Just Another Face: ON HIATUS
by Naomi-chan-09
Summary: Neko Sayumi. Also known as the 'Wild Cat of Konoha', has had a terrible past. After escaping the clutches of the snake sannin, she ends up in front of the gates at Konoha. What happens when she has to tell people her secret. That she's a Jinchuuriki too. But when she's placed on team seven, she finds friends who help her along the way. On hiatus for a bit.
1. Meet Neko Sayumi

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I only own Neko, Nikita, and the Jutsus I create**

 **Part One: Meet Neko Sayumi**

 _"Run. Escape. Isn't that what you want? To be free? See the sun once more? To be able to return home and run into the loving arms of your dead parents?"_ The words rang in her head as she ran.

Her long ginger hair tainted with mud and grime, ridding it of its shine. Her shirt was nearly tattered, along with the shorts she wore. Blood ran down her arm as she clutched her left shoulder. Four whisker marks, resembling a cat's, made her cheeks stand out. But what frightened people most of all were her green eyes that seemed to pierce through skin.

He told her she would never get away. He said she wouldn't succeed in finding a home. She was only eight when he took her. She was scared and vulnerable. It was the worst three years of her life. But everything he said was a lie. She did make it out. She did get away from the snake's lair.

She jumped from tree to tree, blood falling from her worn out body. Every jump hurt, but she was a fighter, she wouldn't quit. Not when she has already gotten this far. They told her she wasn't good enough. They said she couldn't become a ninja. They said she was weak. They said she wasn't smart enough. She was going to prove them wrong…all of them. She slowed down and let go of her shoulder. She put her back against a tree, ignoring its protest of pain, and slid down to her butt. A little break was all she needed.

Her chakra was low. She was losing blood. She was exhausted. She was in pain. She wanted to just lay down and go to sleep. But that couldn't happen. The eleven year old girl took a deep breath before looking ahead of her. She grinned. For the first time in years, the girl had a wide grin on her face. Even if she barely had sight of it, she could still see it. The wall of Konoha.

All she had to do was enter the village and she would be free. She let out a loud laugh. She would be free! She felt her energy replenish as she focused more on the wall. She still had a long way to go but that didn't matter. She was close. For the first time in her life she felt happiness spread throughout her.

 **"It's about time kit."** A feline voice said in the girl's mind.

 _"Nikita. Thank you for your help,"_ The girl replied.

 **"It made me feel down when you were stuck there. Your emotions influence mine."**

 _"You're really not what they say you_ _are."_

 **"Of course not kit,"** The beast snorted. **"Now let's get to that village before scale face** **notices you** **left."**

 _"You still suck at giving people insulting nicknames."_ The girl stood up and she continued running. It took her eleven attempts to break out of that place. She was eleven years old. She was born on November eleventh. Eleven was her lucky number. She continued running, to distracted to notice the figures behind her.

She reached the village gates and her grin grew wider as the sun began to rise. She slowed down as her breathing started to slow. The gates were open and there were two men there, at a desk. The girl sprinted towards them in hopes for help. Right when she got to the entrance, before she took a step in the village, a deep voice said,

"Not now little kitty. You're coming with us." The ground shook at each word. She began to tremble with fear as a kunai shot past her head and into a tree. The girl pulled the kunai out from the tree and took a defensive stance. She knew she couldn't do this alone. Maybe if she made a scene.

"Help! Help me!" She called out to no one in particular. The three figures finally stepped out from the shadows. Three male sound ninja.

"Orochimaru isn't happy with you." The middle one said. He was big, bald, and he wore the regular sound ninja clothes.

"Help," She tried again. "Help m-" The one on the right rushed over and covered her mouth with one hand, pinning her to the tree. The girl took the kunai and stabbed it into his hand, making him cry out on pain, and let go of her. Two more men came running over. Leaf ninja. Finally. One had gravity defying white hair and a mask covering the bottom of his face, while the other had his brown hair tied back and a scar across his nose.

 _"Nikita. I need your help."_ The girl asked in her mind.

" **On it."** The beast replied. Two of the enemy ninja attacked the two leaf ninja while another went after the girl. She jumped up and kicked the big guy in the back of his head launching herself a safe distance. The guy stumbled, but caught himself before falling. The two leaf ninja weren't struggling against the other sound.

The sound ninja launched a shuriken the girl's way and she jumped to the side dodging. She pulled the shuriken out of the tree and jumped up on a branch. Once the ninja ran towards her she launched it at him making him jump in order to dodge, but she jumped up as well kicking him towards the ground.

 **"Ready kit?"** The girl nodded and did a couple hand signs before saying,

"Fire style: Flaming Cat Claw!." The two leaf ninja stared in awe as a blue chakra paw, with red tips resembling fire, hit the three sound ninja, throwing them down unconscious. The girl got down on her knees, panting, the pain her body coming back. The two leaf ninja jumped over to her.

"Hey, are you okay?" The brown haired guy asked.

"Y-yes. T-thank y-you." The girl managed.

"What's your name?" The masked man questioned.

"N-Neko Sayumi." She began to get dizzy. Blackness taking place of her vision.

"How old are you?" The ninja asked.

"Eleven sir."

"What were you doing out here with those enemy ninja?" The white haired guy asked.

"Running." Was Neko's reply.

"From who?"

"Or-oroch-," she slowly began losing consciousness. "Orochimaru." She said before falling forward into the masked man's arms.

"Kakashi she used a jutsu that only-"

"I know Iruka. This girl is special. Do you think maybe the two tails might be in her?" Kakashi pondered.

"I don't think the two tails is possible of such a powerful attack." Iruka stated. Kakashi observed the girl and took notice of the whisker like marks on her skin.

"I thought the Sayumi clan was wiped out." Kakashi thought aloud.

"It was. Three years ago." Iruka informed.

"I'll report this to the Hokage." Kakashi stated.

"Do you need help? I can take the girl to the hospital." Iruka offered. Kakashi gave him a smile.

"No thanks. Don't you have a ramen appointment with that student of yours?" Kakashi chuckled.

"Oh you're right! I forgot! Naruto won't be happy if I'm late," Iruka said. "Thanks Kakashi!" And with that both ninja went separate ways. After stopping at the hospital Kakashi went to the Hokage.

"Kakashi? I thought I gave you the day off?" The old man asked.

"Yes Lord Hokage, you did but it's not about that." Kakashi stated.

"What is it?" The Sandaime questioned.

"There was a girl being attacked by enemy ninja. Iruka and I went into help, but she seemed fine on her own. She rendered all three of them unconscious but passed out afterwards. We got her name and what she was doing."

"And that is?"

"Her name is Neko Sayumi. She said she was running from Orochimaru," The Sandaime went into thinking. "That's not all. We think she might be a possible Jinchuuriki."

"And what led you to believe this?"

"She showed extraordinary power, and used a jutsu. Flaming Cat Claw I believe it was. I dropped her off at the hospital where she is being taken care of at the moment."

"Yes thank you Kakashi. I'll speak with her when she awakens." Kakashi nodded and left.

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Neko laid on a bend, slowly regaining consciousness. Her memory was fuzzy. She questioned to why there weren't any bonds on her wrists, or why there were bandages on her. She opened her eyes and saw a bright light.

Neko was afraid. Where was she? She didn't trust anyone. She didn't know what to do. The doorknob jiggled. She quickly pushed her back up against the headboard of the bed and her arms around her knees. She took fast breaths, afraid of who was going to walk through the door. It opened all of the way.

In came the same white haired man from earlier. He looked at her with a smile under his mask.

"Hello. How are you feeling?" He asked walking over to the bed. Neko looked at him with fear in her eyes. Who was he? What did he want? Was this all an act? He seemed to have noticed this and he chuckled.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kakashi, I'm a ninja here in the leaf village. I brought you here after you passed out." Kakashi stated with a smile.

"T-thank you sir. I feel better now." Neko replied. Her voice no louder than a whisper.

"Well since you're feeling good enough, the Hokage wants to speak with you. I came to escort you." Kakashi stated.

"Y-yes sir." Neko said slowly getting off the bed to stand.

"Now stop with the sir thing, it makes me feel old." Kakashi chuckled.

"R-right." Neko said. _"Nikita what's going on? Do you know?"_

 **"You passed out kit.** **I know just as much as you**." The girl nodded.

"What was that jutsu you used?" Kakashi asked the girl trying to spike up a conversation.

"Flaming cat claw. I created it." Neko stated.

"It's a really good jutsu. Maybe a little more practice and you could be able to do it without passing out after." Kakashi smiled.

"T-thank you." Neko and Kakashi approached a door and Kakashi walked in the room first, followed by Neko.

"Thank you Kakashi. You can wait outside," The old man directed. Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "You must be Neko. What are you doing here in the leaf village."

"I-I umm… I'm sorry I didn't know where I was… I didn't mean to… I wasn't trying to…" The Hokage laughed at the girl's nervousness.

"It's alright. Come sit down. Tell me your story." The girl obliged and sat down.

"W-well b-before I was born our village was attacked. The elders sealed the beast into my mother's womb when she was two months pregnant with me. Then later I was born into the village, and my mother died during my birth. Then when I was three my dad died and my uncle took care of me. But on my eighth birthday our village was attacked again by a man. He destroyed the village, leaving me as the sole survivor. He kidnapped me."

"And who was this man?"

"Orochimaru." Neko stated. The Hokage didn't seem surprised.

"What happened then?" He asked. The girl looked up at him with desperate eyes.

"Please don't make me talk about my stay with him! I can't even think about it without-"

"It's alright. I understand."

"T-thank you sir." Neko looked down into your lap.

"Can I ask about the beast inside you though?" The Hokage continued. The girl nodded.

"Her name is Nikita. She's the eleven tail." Neko started.

"I thought there were only nine tailed beasts." Neko shook her head, denying his thoughts.

"There were actually eleven. Nikita was made to guard the other nine. But she was taken over and forced against her will to destroy. Most of the time she stays hidden. She's in the cat species like the two tails, but more powerful. Nikita helps me a lot, and we've learned how to work together, and what limits we can and cannot pass."

"Kakashi told me you fought well against the enemy ninja. Nikita you would make an excellent shinobi. How would you like to join the academy and become a ninja?" Neko gaped at him.

"A-are you serious sir? A-after what I told you, you'll allow me to be a ninja? I'm a monster!" Neko stated.

"Now who told you that? You're not a monster unless you lead people to believe so. And yes, I'll allow you to join the academy if you want."

"T-thank you sir." Neko said looking directly in his eyes finding no evidence of a lie.

"Since your eleven I think you'll be old enough to live in your own apartment. You are mature enough to do that right?"

"Y-yes sir. I believe so."

"You don't have to call me sir. It makes me feel older than I should."

"S-sorry." Neko apologized.

"It's alright. Now Kakashi should be waiting outside for you. Go send him in for me and while we speak wait for him please."

"Y-yes." Neko said before walking out of the room, spotting Kakashi very quickly. "H-he wants to speak with you." She said very quietly. Kakashi chuckled.

"Alright. There's no need to be so shy, we're all friends here." Kakashi said before walking in.

" _What did he mean by that Nikita?"_

 **"He means that nobody's gonna hurt** **you. You'll be alright here.** "

" _Oh. Thanks."_ Nikita laughed.

" **Kit you can't always come to me for answers. Sometimes you'll need to find them out yourself. I won't always be here for you."** Neko sighed.

" _You're right, sorry._ " Nikita just laughed again. Neko looked out the window and saw the village. A couple seconds later and the door opened and Kakashi came out with a key in his hand.

"Here Neko. The Hokage wants you to stay in an apartment. I have the key, and I'll show you where it is." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Neko just nodded and followed. "So tell me a little about yourself. It's going to take awhile to reach your place." Neko thought before responding.

"I was born on November eleventh, and I'm eleven years old. My mom died giving birth to me, and my dad died when I was three." " _Nikita, should I tell him about you?"_

" **It's your choice kit."** Neko bit her lip.

"Uhh… My uncle raised me from then but he acted as if I was a curse. Then when I was eight someone came and wiped out my whole village. Then he forced me with him, and I finally got away to here." Neko finished. Kakashi listened to everything she said.

"You have quite an interesting story. Ah we're here. You can start at the academy tomorrow. I can have a friend of mine show you the way in the morning. See ya." Kakashi said before disappearing into smoke. This was going to be a long week.

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Neko sat at the desk next to a blonde haired kid. After Iruka introduced her to the class she was told to sit in the only free spot. Shortly after class started, Iruka was called out of the classroom. A bunch of kids started talking, but what surprised Neko the most was the blonde haired kid actually wanted to talk to her.

"Hi! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! Believe it!" This made Neko smile.

"H-hi. I'm Neko." She replied. Naruto gave her a wide grin.

" **This boy. There is something suspicious about him**." Nikita stated.

" _What do you mean? Is he bad?"_

" **Not him, but what's inside of him**." Neko held back a gasp.

 _"You mean, he's like me?"_ Nikita nodded, but then realized that Neko couldn't see her.

 ** _"_ Yea. The longer you stay by him, the easier it will be for me see if I can contact his beast _."_** Nikita said. Naruto began speaking again.

"I'm going to be Hokage! That way people will recognize me as somebody! Somebody important!" Neko smiled.

"I like that." She said. Naruto gaped at her.

"R-really! You actually believe you can do it!" Neko nodded.

"Yea. Anyone can become what they want to. You shouldn't believe what others say." Naruto smiled wide.

"You wanna come go get ramen with me later today?" Naruto asked.

"Yea sure. I've never had ramen before." Naruto's eyes widened.

"WHAT! YOU MEAN YOU'VE NEVER HAD RAMEN BEFORE!" He nearly shouted.

"There is no ramen shops where I used to live." _"Considering it was a cave and I was kept there by force."_

 **"Heh you got that right kit."** Neko smiled.

"Well I know the best ramen shop in the village!" Neko giggled at his excitement for ramen.

Iruka soon came back in and sent a glance towards Neko. He then put a smile on his face and began to teach his class.

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The remainder of the day went by fast and Neko soon found herself at a ramen shop with Naruto. Neko got a small bowl to try the ramen at first to see if she liked it. Naruto watched in anticipation as she ate some noodles.

"So? Do you like it." Neko smiled and Naruto cheered. Unbeknownst to the two children, the were being watched by a well known old man.

"Heh. Neko's already breaking out of her shell. Naruto has that effect on people." The Hokage chuckled

"So Neko what do you like to do for fun?" Naruto asked. Neko thought before answering.

"I like painting, or planning things. Like if you wanted to do something I could help you work on it." Naruto smirked.

"So you mean you can plan maybe some pranks? And ways to not get caught?" Naruto looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Uhh yeah, it depends if I know the layout of the area, and all of the items needed." Naruto smiled and grabbed her arm pulling her away from the ramen shop.

"Then we need to get to work!" He claimed pulling her to his apartment. When they reached the building Naruto burst into his room, dragging Neko behind him. Neko smiled and shook her head. This was gonna be a friendship that would last a lifetime.

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Naruto Uzumaki ran through the village laughing at the prank he and Neko just pulled. The prank wasn't even finished. Neko waited on the roof of a building watching Naruto laugh and run. Everything was going according to plan.

Iruka-sensei then stopped Naruto. Neko's smile widened as she grabbed her paint bucket. She creeped up behind him and dumped it on to his head. Naruto and her both sprinted back to the academy, hearing Iruka's faint screams.

Naruto and Neko bursted into the classroom earning curious looks from the other students. Neko ran over to the closet and pulled out a bucket of feathers she stored in there the night before. She handed the bucket to Naruto and said,

"Hurry! He should be here soon." Naruto nodded and tied a rope around the handle, swinging the rope over a pole.

"NARUTO! NEKO!" Could be heard inside the building.

"Oh shoot!" Neko ran over to the window and opened it. Neko jumped out and was followed by Naruto. The door hit the wall with a bang, and an angry teacher, covered in paint, entered the classroom, only to be covered in feathers, falling from a bucket over the door. The class held back giggles and snickers as Iruka began to fume.

"Where did they go." He demanded, giving the class a terrifying look. They all pointed to the window, and Iruka growled before jumping out. Once Iruka left the class bursted into laughter.

"I really respect those too. I don't think I would've had the guts to do that." Kiba claimed.

"Did you see him? He was covered in paint!" Ino giggled.

"N-now h-he h-has f-f-feathers o-on him." Hinata added. Sasuke smirked behind his fists.

" _They may be annoying, but they do plan some great pranks. Especially ever since Neko came. Naruto's pranks have gotten better."_ He thought to himself. Minutes later the classroom door busted open again, and Iruka walked in with Naruto and Neko tied, back to back, pouting.

"C'mon Iruka-sensei. Let us go we didn't do anything!" Neko begged. "I told you, I dropped the paint bucket!"

"Yea, and I forgot to take the bucket of feathers down." Naruto claimed. Iruka crossed his arms.

"Then what about the Hokage monuments?" He asked.

"C'mon Iruka-sensei! I didn't plan this far ahead. You messed everything up by catching us." Neko whined. Iruka untied the two kids and they went over to their desks.

"Everyone! Just because Naruto and Neko missed it, we are going to review the jutsu." The whole class groaned and formed a line. Naruto stood in front of Neko and whispered,

"I'm going to use _the_ jutsu." Neko's eyes widened.

" _The_ jutsu? Here? Now? Do you know how much more trouble you'll be in?" She asked. Naruto smirked before walking up to the front of the line. Neko groaned inwardly before watching with interest. Naruto transformed…into a naked version of an older girl. Iruka fell back with a nosebleed, and Naruto and Neko bursted out laughing.

"That's my sexy jutsu. Neko helped me practice." Naruto said in the midst of laughing. Once Iruka recovered he stood back up, and was so mad that it was possible steam could've come out of his ears.

"NARUTO, NEKO!" He shouted in anger.

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The Hokage chuckled in front of his crystal ball.

 _"Neko really has broken out of her shell. She isn't the shy girl Kakashi and Iruka brought back about a year ago. Her and Naruto. Even I think their pranks are laughable. Neko and Naruto's beasts are what keep them together. I don't_ _know if they know it yet. They'll be great kids_." He thought to himself.

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Naruto found himself cleaning the Hokage monuments, while Neko was washing the traces of paint from the ground, where she dumped a bucket on Iruka.

" **Ya know kit, one of these days you're going to have to stop these pranks.** " Nikita told her.

 _"I know but, they're so much fun, and I like doing them with Naruto."_

" **Yeah I understand, but you know Naruto hasn't graduated from the academy, especially after taking the exam twice. The final exams are tomorrow, what will** **you do if Naruto doesn't pass?** " Neko stopped working and looked up at the sky.

"I don't know." She said aloud. Then she began to work again. _"Maybe he will pass. Maybe I won't have to worry about waiting another year for my friend."_ Neko thought before finishing her job and walking back to her apartment.

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" _Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring. Ring ri-_ _bang_." The alarm clock bounced off the wall and hit the ground. A tired girl crawled out of bed and sluggishly walked to her closet, grabbing her clothes before walking to the bathroom. She began filling the sink with ice cold water, and undressed her shirt and shorts. Once the sink stopped filling itself, the girl took her face and dropped it in the water, only to come out seconds later, awake.

 **"Hahaha! Kit I love it when you do that**!"

" _Shut it whiskers."_ Neko growled before grabbing her clean shirt and putting it on. She did the same with her shorts and looked at herself in the mirror. She had on a black shirt with a green mini jacket that stopped above her stomach. Her green shorts stopped right at her knees, and she tied her hair in a ponytail, having it stop right beneath her shoulder blades. Neko smiled at the end result and walked out the door to the apartment across from hers and began slamming her hand on the door.

"What! Neko is that you?" A voice demanded.

"C'mon Naruto! We're going to be late if you don't hurry it up you slow poke."

"Alright I'm coming!" The door opened and Naruto walked out of the apartment, and headed down the hallway followed by Neko. The ran into the classroom and took their seats only a second before Iruka walked in. Iruka eyed them cautiously. They gave sincere smiled and Neko said,

"We promise we didn't do anything Iruka-sensei." She put her hands up in a surrender mode, and Iruka cautiously walked over to his chair and checked it for anything before sitting down. He sighed in relief and smiled at his class.

"Alright, now Mizuki and I are going to call you in one by one to take the final exam. You need to make three shadow clones to pass." Naruto banged his head on his desk. "First up is Shino." Iruka left the classroom. Neko looked over to Naruto.

"Naruto, do you think you can do it?" She asked.

"No. I can't! I can't even make a realistic clone!" He complained. Neko bit her lip thinking, but Naruto caught on. "No don't fail because of me."

"But-"

"Don't. You deserve to keep going. Don't make me the reason that you have to stay here longer." Neko looked down at her feet.

"Alright." She said depressingly. "I can still train with you though. And I'll plan some awesome pranks." Naruto gave her a sad smile. Shikamaru walked up to Neko and tapped her shoulder.

"It's your turn catgirl." Neko nodded and walked into the exam room.

Iruka noticed that Neko wasn't really her happy self. She didn't seem as excited to graduate as the other kids. Iruka remembered when he and Kakashi first found her. She was upset and afraid. When she became friends with Naruto she blossomed into a colorful flower, but now it's as if she crawled back into a seed.

"Alright Ne-"

"Yeah yeah. I got it." She said. She did the hand sign and created three perfect clones. Surprising Iruka completely. Her grades were the same as Naruto's. "Are we done here?" She asked. Iruka nodded and gave her a head band. Neko walked outside and sat against the tree beside the swing, waiting for Naruto. Maybe he would pass. Maybe he would be able to become a ninja today.

 **"It's doubtful kit.** " Neko sighed.

 _"I know but I can only hope for the best."_ Neko closed her eyes and slowly began to hum. It was only a couple minutes later she heard the creaking of the swing and opened her eyes to see Naruto.

"Hey." She said sadly. Naruto looked over to her and sighed.

"Hey. Congrats." Neko looked at the head band in her hand before putting it in her pocket. "Aren't you going to wear that? You're a ninja now." Everything Naruto said sounded half-hearted.

"No," Naruto looked with surprise. "Not until you become a ninja too. We're gonna do this together whether you like it or not." Naruto gave her a sincere smile before hugging her.

"Hey Neko would you mind if I spoke to Naruto for a minute?" Neko turned around to see Mizuki. Neko nodded before turning to Naruto.

"I'll be back at my place, and I'll make us some ramen." With that she was off.

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"Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock."

"I'm coming!" Neko shouted. She was surprised to see Naruto at her door with a scroll on his back, and a smile on his face.

"Hey, Neko! Mizuki told me about another way to graduate! He also showed me a training place, you wanna come?"

"Sure, just gimme a sec." Neko said sliding her shoes on and grabbing her jacket. The two kids ran out of the building and into the forest and begun practicing the shadow clone jutsu.

"So what exactly did Mizuki-sensei say?" Neko asked.

"Well he told me that if I learned a jutsu from the scroll then I would be able to graduate, and he told me where to find it. I had to distract the Hokage to get to it."

"And how did you do that?" Neko asked raising her eyebrow.

"I used my sexy jutsu!" Neko dead panned. "He got a bloody nose and everything!" Neko smiled and shook her head. It was awhile before Iruka-sensei found them.

"Naruto, Neko? What are you doing here with that scroll?" Iruka asked. Naruto grinned.

"It's about time you found us sensei! Mizuki told me that if I showed you a jutsu from the scroll I could graduate! That's still the case right?" Iruka looked at the two and noticed Neko wasn't wearing her headband. Then he quickly jumped and pushed them out of the way as some kunai flew towards them. There sat Mizuki on a tree branch.

"Iruka, I'm surprised you found this place before me. Naruto, give me that scroll." Mizuki gave the blond a fierce stare, demanding his will be obeyed.

"No Naruto! Don't! Mizuki tricked you!" Iruka shouted. Neko looked at Mizuki with disappointment.

"That's low Mizuki. To use a twelve year old to get a scroll for you? Why not steal it yourself?" Neko asked.

"It's simple really. I would find Naruto kill him, and take the scroll. You being here is just an added bonus. No one would question his death…or yours for that matter. They'd most likely cheer for a week." The traitor smirked evilly. "After all, who would miss the local demon hosts?"

Yup that's right. A month after Neko came to Konoha the council figured out about the demon in her and all of the ninja knew. Just her luck.

Neko Naruto both glared up at him, one set of eyes narrowing suspiciously while the other pair narrowed in confusion. Neko knew about her demon, but Nikita was never able to figure out which one was in Naruto.

"Shut up, Mizuki!" Iruka shouted. "Get out of here, you two! Take that scroll straight to the Hokage and explain what is happening! Protect it with your life!" The chuunin dropped into a fighting stance, his muscles tensing up in preparation.

Naruto took a mental step back. "We can't just leave you, Iruka-sensei!"

"Yes, you can! Now go!" The two kids took stances beside their teacher.

"Isn't this sweet? You think that you two can defeat me. Oh, the idiocy of children." Mizuki grinned, the expression making his face even more unpleasant than it was before. "The loser of the village and his eleven tailed girlfriend standing up against me to protect their precious sensei. It's too bad that Iruka holds hatred for you Naruto just like everybody else, even if his kind nature prevents him from admitting it."

"Shut it." Neko growled. Her green eyes slowly gaining a dark shade of purple. Mizuki smiled at this.

"Oh did I make the little kitten mad? Whoops." His attention turned to Naruto. "Iruka never forgave the beast that killed his parents. I'm talking about the nine tails." Neko gasped.

 **"It's him! It's really him! Ky-kyuubi**!" Nikita shouted.

"Mizuki, I'm warning you now. Don't say another word," Iruka spat out angrily. Neko already knew what was happening. The Kyuubi was inside Naruto.

"After the Kyuubi incident, the Third issued a law of the highest rank. No one was to tell you about the beast you hold within you, but since I plan on killing you anyway I don't see how letting you in on your own secret will affect anything." Naruto gaped up at him and Neko growled.

"SHUT UP!" She yelled. "DON'T YOU SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!" Mizuki only laughed at her. She knew what it was like knowing that the beast inside of you attacked a village.

"Now hand me the scroll, or I'll have to kill you." Mizuki stated as he launched a large, four pointed shuriken at Naruto. However, Iruka jumped in front of the blow before it could land.

"Run Naruto and Neko, take the scroll and go back to the village." Iruka called out.

"Don't Naruto, he's just lying to you. He just wants you to help him. He thinks badly of you just like the other villagers. And Neko, he thinks you're only a troublemaker who needs discipline." Naruto looked at Iruka with shocked eyes.

"Why?" He asked. Iruka looked at the boy.

"Because, we're the same. When my parents died the world meant nothing to be. My grades lowered and I became the class clown. I should have been there for you more Naruto, but it looks like Neko beat me to it." Naruto looked at him before taking off.

"NARUTO!" Neko shouted before taking off. "NARUTO WAIT!" Naruto ignored her and continued to run. "PLEASE I-" what could she say. I know your pain? She's known about Nikita since she was a child. She began gaining speed on Naruto and tackled him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She pinned him to a tree, tears pouring down her eyes.

"Why? Why after all you heard about me?" He asked in a whisper. She pulled him into a hug.

"Because, I'm like you. I have a beast inside me too." She claimed before pulling away. Naruto looked up at her surprised. She pulled his shirt up to show him his seal, then she showed him her seal. "See? I wasn't allowed to tell you but I wanted you to not feel alone." She whispered. Naruto pulled her back into a hug.

"Thank you." He whispered, feeling some sign of reassurance that he wasn't alone in this world. He could hear her sniffling and he felt as she lifted her arm to wipe the tears from her eyes. He held her tighter. Then they heard a thud.

"Why do you keep going? Don't you hate the demon that killed your parents? And what about the eleven tails?" They heard Mizuki snarl.

"You're right, I do hate the demon that killed my parents." Neko tightened her grip on Naruto at that moment. "But Naruto isn't the demon. Naruto is just a boy who was unfortunate enough to have the Kyuubi sealed inside him. And Neko. As for her, I never hated her. The first day I found her she showed great potential. She'll be a great ninja, even if she has a beast inside her." As Iruka finished his speech both Neko and Naruto found the strength to continue fighting. For him. With amazing speed, both rushed in front of Iruka.

"If you ever touch our sensei…" Naruto began.

"We'll kill you." Neko finished. Neko opened her closed eye to reveal two dark purple orbs. In her vision, everything was black, outlined by blue flames. Chakra. She focused on the ground behind Mizuki and by pushing her chakra into her eyes she teleported there. Naruto summoned clones, and Neko took a stance, not wanting to use up her chakra on clones.

"It's the Sayumi clan kekkei genkai." Iruka muttered in awe. The Tassei Hitomi, a trait that is powerful in offensive attacks. It can spot chakra, and outline the object of person that gives it out. If the user focuses on a single spot they can teleport there, and lastly the user can see through things such as building walls, pockets, bags, and anything else. Iruka came out of his daze when he noticed Naruto and Neko walking up to him.

"I think we went a little overboard." Naruto claimed scratching the back of his head. Iruka smiled at him.

"Naruto close your eyes for a second." Iruka said. Naruto did as told and Neko nodded at her teacher before putting on a big grin. When Naruto opened his eyes he noticed Iruka's forehead protector was gone. "Congratulations, you graduate!" Iruka exclaimed. Naruto smiled widely before burying his head in the crook of Iruka's neck, giving him a big hug. " _Being a ninja won't be easy. Especially for you two since you have the two most powerful beasts in you. But I won't ruin the moment."_ Iruka thought to himself.

"How about we go get some ramen?" Neko asked. Naruto jumped with excitement and Iruka chuckled. Naruto and Neko, two different souls, two different bodies, one love for ramen.

 **A/N: To fast? I did the a big time skip because I really didn't feel like writing out the whole year they became friends, but in future chapters there should be flash backs.**


	2. The Genin Test

**Kittyluver: Oh Great Lord Uchiha please do the disclaimer**

 **Sasuke: No, do it yourself**

 **Kittyluver: Do it, or else, I'll tell everyone about your te-**

 **Sasuke: Kitty does not own Naruto, she only own Neko, Nikita, and the Jutsus she creates**

 **Kittyluver: Thank you!**

 **Ｏ** **(≧∇≦)Ｏ**

 **Sasuke: Hn, whatever just leave teddy out of this**

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Neko and Naruto both sat at the edge of a seat, smiles on their faces.

"I can't believe that you passed!" Neko exclaimed. Naruto gave her a wide grin.

"Well I did so believe it! You were there too!" Neko nodded. The door bursted open and in came the two biggest fan girls in the world. Naruto stared at Sakura in awe. He's had a crush on her for awhile. Neko smiled. She supported Naruto even though she disliked Sakura. It's like Sasuke was their king, and he didn't have a queen yet. Sakura and Ino walked over to them.

"Hey Sasuke, can I sit there?" She asked sweetly. Naruto looked shot down and glared at Sasuke. "Naruto, Neko move! I wanna sit by Sasuke!" Naruto stood up and crouched in front of Sasuke, looking in his eyes. "Naruto! Stop glaring at Sasuke!" Sakura screeched. Neko smirked before walking to the other side.

"Just admit your feelings for each other all ready." She said before pushing them into each other, making them kiss. Their eyes widened and everyone gasped. With the exception of Neko of course. She was laughing loudly. Naruto and Sasuke pulled away, wiping their tongues. Sasuke glared at Neko and Naruto yelled at her.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!" She only continued to laugh, until the Sasuke fan club walked over to her and Naruto. Neko sprinted to the door only to nearly run into Iruka, who told everyone to get seated.

"As of today you are all ninjas. To get here you faced difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. Blah blah blah blah blah." Neko zoned out. "3 man squads. Each squad will lead by a jounin, an elite ninja. Blah blah blah blah blah. Now I'll announce your squads."

 _"Hmmm I wanna be in a group with Naruto. I don't wanna be in a group with oh great lord uchiha or princess pink. Not Ino either. Maybe me Naruto and Hinata. She doesn't talk much._ " Neko thought.

"Now for squad seven. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno."

"I'm doomed." Sakura muttered.

"Sasuke Uchiha-"

"I'm doomed." Naruto claimed.

"And Neko Sayumi." A loud groan was heard from said girl. Sasuke scowled behind his wrist and Sakura glared at her.

"I don't get it. What do you see in a guy like Sasuke? He's not so special." Neko heard shikamaru say behind her.

"Oh shikamaru you wouldn't understand." Ino claimed.

"No, I don't get it cause I'm not a girl." Neko turned back to them.

"I'm a girl and I still don't get it." She told him. Shikamaru smirked and Ino growled at her. She turned away before anything else could happen.

After what seemed like forever, Iruka finished announcing teams, causing ruckus.

"Iruka-sensei!" Both Naruto and Neko shouted standing up.

"Why does," Neko started.

"Great shinobi," Naruto continued.

"Like us," Neko added.

"Have to be on the same team as Sasuke!" The both finished at the exact same time, earning looks of awe from the class.

"How do they do that?" Kiba muttered.

"Naruto, Neko, you both have the lowest scores in the class. Sasuke has the best scores out of all the graduates." That earned snickers from the other kids. Neko pouted and leaned back in her chair. This was gonna suck.

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Neko walked around the building bored out of her mind. She wasn't hungry, and she didn't feel like talking to anyone. But that all changed when she heard a 'thump' from the closet. Obviously being the curious girl she was, Neko opened the door and saw Sasuke tied up on the ground. Of course she did the one thing any mature adult would do. She fell to the ground laughing. Sasuke growled at her and she slowly came to a stop. She grabbed the end of the rope and stopped to think.

"Who did this to you?" She asked. Reluctantly Sasuke answered.

"Naruto." Right before the rope was untied Neko let go and bursted out laughing.

"No wonder he didn't gag your mouth! He knew that 'Oh Great Lord Uchiha' was to prideful to call for help!" Neko laughed. Sasuke glared at her laughing form. Once she stopped and untied him he stood up and bonked her on the head.

"Twerp." He muttered earning a look of anger from her.

"I'm not a twerp!" Neko complained. Sasuke smirked.

"Alright princess!" Neko narrowed her brows before complaining once more. Sasuke smirked as he walked away. Neko muttered something about 'stuck up stink heads' before heading back to the classroom.

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After being the only ones in the classroom left for a couple of hours Neko finally grew bored and walked to the front of the classroom, drawing formulas.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked her, surprised that she was smart enough to do this.

"Shush." Neko told her as she continued writing numbers. Neko walked over to the door and looked out before walking over to the closet where she and Naruto had some left over prank stuff. Naruto saw what she was doing and grinned.

"Aw yeah! That's what he gets for being late!" He cheered. Neko tossed Naruto a rope and he tied it around the handle of a paint bucket.

"You guys are really going to prank our sensei?" Sakura asked. "It's not gonna work." She told them, while on the inside she really wanted to see what would happen.

"Tell that to my calculations. It worked perfectly on Iruka sensei, it can work on this one." Neko retorted.

"This is a jounin we're talking about. He won't be so easily pushed around." Sasuke threw in. Neko scowled as she continued setting up the prank.

"Do you have faith in my plans at all? I already have a backup plan too! What do you think this was for?" Neko said gesturing to the board. Sasuke scowled and Sakura looked at the board with curiosity.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Measurements. At the beginning of the year Naruto and I made measurements of the doorway and the window. Did you think that every time we did a paint prank on Iruka-sensei it hit him by luck?" Sakura nodded. "Well that wasn't it. I calculated where exactly the bucket would need to be. So even if Iruka tried to dodge the paint, he would still get hit. It's all in the wonders of science." Neko explained. Sasuke was shocked by her knowledge but didn't show it.

"I didn't think you were capable of such things." Sakura mumbled. Neko faced her angrily.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME DUMB!" Neko shouted, but what she didn't know was that a certain man was walking down the hall.

"No no. It's just according to Iruka-sensei you had the worst test scores, along with Naruto." Sakura quickly said. Neko finished and quickly hid the rope.

"Well I found the test to boring to do." Naruto looked out the door and popped his head back in.

"Neko, Neko! He's coming." Naruto whispered. Neko nodded before jumping out of the window. A white haired guy with a mask covering his face opened the door at the same time Naruto pulled the first rope. He dodged flawlessly.

"WHAT! BUT NEKO'S CALCULATIONS NEVER FAIL!" Naruto shouted. The white haired man looked at him.

"My first impression of you guys is- wait, weren't there four of you?" They all nodded and pointed to the window, which the man opened, only to have blue paint rain on his head. Neko popped out from a bush and jumped into the classroom laughing. Naruto joined her as Sakura and Sasuke stare at the man shocked. The masked man turned around, but what surprised them the most was that he didn't have a speck of paint on him.

"Wha-" Naruto started.

"I CALL HAX!" Neko shouted pouting.

"Meet me on the roof in five minutes." He directed. The group stood up, everyone but Neko.

"You comin twerp?" Sasuke asked her. She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

"No! He was late getting here so I'm not gonna go to the roof! See how he- ow! OW! SASUKE LET GO OF MY EAR!" Neko shouted at the Uchiha who was pulling her up the stairs by her ear. That's how they approached their new sensei. Once everyone was seated, the jounin instructed them.

"Alright let's introduce ourselves. Tell me you name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future." He directed.

"Why don't you go first sensei? Show us what it's like." Sakura suggested.

"Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes, my dislikes, I don't feel like telling you. My hobbies, I have a lot of hobbies, and my dream well I never really thought about it." Kakashi said with a smile.

"All we learned was his name." Neko thought.

"Alright, you go first." He said pointing to Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like eating ramen. I also like when Iruka-sensei takes me and Neko to Ichiraku's to get ramen. What I don't like is the three minutes it takes for the ramen to cool. My hobbies are pranks with Neko and trying different types of ramen. And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage. That way people will recognize me as somebody. Somebody important!" Naruto claimed with an ear to ear grin. Kakashi signaled for the next person to go.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like or who I like…" She looked at Sasuke and giggled. "My hobbies are…and my dreams are…" She continued to look at Sasuke and giggle.

"I'll translate! She means that she likes Sasuke, her hobbies are stalking Sasuke, and her dream is to marry Sasuke." Neko said giggling

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi asked

"What I hate is Naruto and Neko!" She snapped.

"Love you too." Neko said sarcastically.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke started. "I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone." Neko rolled her eyes.

"My name is Neko Sayumi. I like pulling pranks with Naruto, training, and cats. I dislike lampshades, screen doors, perverts, and clowns. My-"

"What?" Sakura asked. "Why do you hate screen doors, and lampshades." Neko shuddered as Naruto snickered.

"That's for me to know and you to find out. Anyways, my hobbies are planning out pranks, and playing shogi with shikamaru. My dream is to prove to everybody that girls can do anything boys can. Gender doesn't matter." Neko said content with her summary.

"Good, you're all unique in your own way. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi told them.

"What type of mission!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"It's a task that the five of us will do together. A survival exercise." Kakashi told them.

"What? We already did that stuff back at the academy!" Sakura said.

"This isn't like the academy." Kakashi started chuckling.

"What do you mean it's not like the academy?" Naruto asked.

"What's so funny?" Neko said.

"If I tell you, you won't like it." He said playfully. "Out of the twenty eight graduates only 10 will pass as Genin, while the other 18 will be sent back to the academy. This is a pass or fail test, and the chance that you fail is at least sixty five percent." Neko looked thoughtful before saying,

"Actually sensei, the passing percentage is sixty six percent. You did the math wrong." She said bluntly. Kakashi eyed her curiously.

" _I thought she had the lowest scores._ _Maybe there's some genius she's hiding."_

"Not making me feel any better." Sakura growled.

"Didn't I say you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi asked.

"We worked hard to get here! What was the graduation test for?" Naruto asked.

"That was to select possible Genin candidates. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the training area at five a.m. And bring your ninja gear." Kakashi turned around. "That's it, you're dismissed, oh and tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke." And with that, he was gone. Neko quickly jumped off the building and ran home. She laid out her clothes and gear on to the table and looked at her broken alarm clock and smirked.

" _No one, not even objects, interrupt my cat-naps without paying for it"_ she thought.

" **You sure got that right kit."** Nikita chuckled. Neko laid on her bed and went to sleep. She woke up that morning and took her time getting dressed. She took a quick glance to the clock in the kitchen before noticing the time.

"OH SHOOT!" She yelled. It was way passed the arrival time. Forgetting her new sensei's breakfast warning, she grabbed an oatmeal bar and sprinted out of the room. When she got there she saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura glaring at her.

"You're late." Sakura claimed.

"Sorry but my alarm clock uhhh… fell off my desk and broke, and I haven't had the chance to replace it." Neko claimed. Only minutes later did Kakashi arrive.

"Morning everyone, ready for your first day?" Kakashi asked. Naruto and Sakura faced him angrily.

"YOU'RE LATE!" They both shouted.

"A black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way." Kakashi claimed earning glares. "Let's get started. The timers set for noon. You just have to take these bells from me." He claimed holding up three bells. "If you can't get them by the desired time you don't get lunch. You'll be tied to those posts and watch as I eat my own lunch." Everyone's stomach growled but Neko's and she earned confused looks from everyone else.

"Wait, we weren't supposed to eat breakfast?" She asked.

"Didn't you listen at all yesterday!" Sakura demanded.

"Uhhhh no I think I was thinking of a new strategy to beat shikamaru in shogi." Everyone sweat dropped.

"Wait a minute, there is four of us and only three bells?" Sakura asked.

"Oh one of you will end up tied to a post and disqualified for good. That one goes back to the academy." Naruto growled at that. "Then again all of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons. Be prepared to kill me or you won't get the bells." Kakashi explained.

"Those weapons are too dangerous!" Sakura claimed.

"Actually I think he'll be fine, he managed to get through our prank. Iruka-sensei usually never gets away from them." Neko said. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Class clowns. Always the weakest link. It's safe to ignore them. Losers." Kakashi said earning growls from Naruto and Neko. Naruto charged at Kakashi with a kunai, but Kakashi switched his position, so he was holding the kunai to the back of Naruto's neck, with Naruto's hand.

" _Amazing speed._ " Neko thought to herself.

"I didn't even say go yet. But you did come at me with the full intention to kill so how can I say this… I'm starting to like you guys." Kakashi eye smiled. "Alright, begin." Kakashi directed and the four kids ran off in separate directions, well all except Naruto.

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Meanwhile, at a place a far distance away sat two men.

"Exactly how hard of a trainer is he?" Iruka asked the Sandaime. The Hokage passed him a book.

"Here is a list of all the teams he passed and failed." The Hokage informed. But before Iruka opened it he looked at the old man.

"Another thing that's been on my mind. Why did you put Naruto and Neko together?" The Hokage looked out the window sipping some of his tea.

"Naruto and Neko make a good team. Especially when it comes to pranks." Iruka went red in embarrassment. "But that's not all. Their beasts seem to keep each other in check. I've done research on Nikita and found some interesting information about her and Kyuubi. Especially a possible romantic relationship between them."

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Neko ran until she found a small little pond surrounded by dirt. She smirked before creating three clones.

"You, go keep an eye on sensei, and report back any information on him." The clone ran away, searching for said man. Neko turned to the other two clones. "You two, stand guard, but don't use the Tassei Hitomi. Try and go without it unless it's necessary. We need to get used to not using it." The two clones nodded before going to lookout.

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Kakashi pulled out his book only to have it taken away in seconds. He didn't even see Neko there! He himself was quite surprised.

"Ohh what's this story about?" She asked. But when she opened to the first page she squeezed her eyes shut and opened the to reveal her kekkei genkai. "Sensei is a pervert! Sensei is a pervert!" She squealed. "Must report to base. Must report to base!" The clone then focused and teleported away, before Kakashi could get his beloved book back. Naruto stated in confusion at the clone before looking back at Kakashi.

"So she already used her shadow clones." Naruto mumbled to himself.

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It wasn't long after Kakashi beat Sasuke that he went looking for Neko. The only time he saw her was when she took his book, and to say he wanted it back was an understatement. He needed it back. Kakashi saw two clones of Neko and hit them turning them to smoke. He saw Neko holding a stick and drawing in the dirt. He decided to go with a calm approach.

"Hello." He said, not expecting a calm reply.

"Hey." Was all she said as she focused on her drawing.

"What's all this." Kakashi asked, clearly confused, especially since she didn't recognize his voice.

"Oh well when Kakashi-sensei told us to begin I decided to come up with a plan, and I sent a clone to watch him. With the information the clone came back with I used it to make up a chart. See?" She said pointing to the rectangle with letters. "These shapes are me, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. And the x is sensei. According to what I drew sensei beats us in basically every skill. So I drew this!" She directed to the five shapes. "The big x is sensei, and the little x's are me, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. If you take one of us and compare it to sensei, it shows that single handedly we can't beat sensei. But if we take all four of us and compare it to him, then it shows a possible chance." Neko sighed after explaining her plan and she looked at the man, only to realize that she told Kakashi-sensei everything. "What?" She raised her voice to a high pitch.

"You didn't even realize it was me you told your plan to?" Kakashi asked.

"Uhh well you see I didn't recognize you with your mask?" Neko claimed. Kakashi was clearly not buying it so Neko did the only thing she could think of. "My clone brought back your book." She said pulling out a torn up book, looking as if pakkun had found it.

"No." Kakashi gasped grabbing the torn material. "NOOOO MY BOOK!" He shouted holding it to his chest. Neko took this opportunity to grab a bell and stare at her sensei.

"You're really a sucker for 'romance' novels." She muttered before leaving him to mourn the loss of his best friend.

"That's what he gets for reading such a perverted book." She chuckled before she heard the bell go off. Sighing she took off for the posts. Naruto was already tied to a post, and sakura and sasuke were already there.

"Hey did you hear sensei scream?" Sakura asked. Neko chuckled.

"Whatever you do don't mention anything about his-"

"My book!" Kakashi continued to mourn as he walked up to his students. Noticing where he was he quickly regained his composure. Neko snickered as she looked at her handiwork. She stopped when she noticed the glare Kakashi was giving her.

"What! You can't blame me! Any other girl would do the same thing!" Neko complained.

"That was a perfectly good copy of the book! You didn't have to ruin it! It's a scientific novel." Kakashi complained. The four kids couldn't believe it. Their sensei was whining over a book.

"Really! You think that stuff is science? I say it's a waste of paper! You can just buy a new one if you really feel like it!" Neko shouted back. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto stared at the two of them as they bickered in confusion. That was until they saw Kakashi's torn up book.

"For once I agree with Neko's logic. Are all men perverts." Sakura muttered.

"It was a good book! I haven't even finished it yet!" Kakashi claimed. Neko crossed her arms.

"I could care less if you finished it or not! A perverted piece of trash like that shouldn't even exist!" Neko then found herself tied on the post next to Naruto. "Touchy much." She muttered.

"Oh and about this exercise, well I've decided I won't send any of you back to the academy." Kakashi said getting back to the main point.

"What? All I really did was faint and fall down. Do I get points for doing that?" Sakura questioned. She and Naruto started cheering, but Neko furrowed her brows.

" _Something's up. I may not be that smart, but I know he wouldn't pass us this easily_." Neko thought. As if on cue Kakashi said,

"Yes, all four of you are being dropped from the program." Sakura and Naruto went silent.

"What? That means we can never become ninja!" Naruto yelled.

"Yeah! And I even got a bell! What's with that?" Neko added, causing Kakashi to look at his bells noticing he only had two, and the third was hanging from Neko's pocket. "This is because I ruined your book, isn't it?"

"That too." Kakashi clarified.

"You can't just change your mind and kick us out!" Naruto yelled, struggling against the rope.

"Actually I can. Because instead of thinking like a ninja you think like little kids. Like brats." Sasuke grunted and charged at Kakashi, only to have Kakashi pin him down. "You think it's all about you."

"LET GO OF SASUKE! YOU CAN'T STEP ON HIM LIKE THAT!" Sakura yelled while Neko held back a laugh.

"You don't know what it means to be a ninja, you think it's a game. Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that? Neko did, but she never did anything about it." Kakashi rambled.

"I don't know what you mean." Sakura stated.

"I mean did you ever realize what this exercise was about?" Kakashi continued.

"I wanted to ask you about that from the beginning." Sakura claimed.

"Tsk. Use your head. There are four people on this squad. Why would we do that?"

"How are we supposed to know? We weren't the ones who made the rules." Naruto shouted, angered.

"It's so basic. Tell them Neko." Kakashi commanded, only to get no response. The group looked over to see Neko fast asleep, comfortably tied against the post.

"Is she seriously asleep right now?" Sakura asked walking over to her. "NEKO! WAKE UP!" Sakura screamed. Amazingly Neko, somehow, broke through the rope and punched Sakura straight in the nose.

"At least we know how her alarm clock broke." Naruto joked. Neko now awake looked at him and chuckled.

"Neko," Kakashi said regaining everyone's attention. "Please tell us the purpose of the assignment." He requested.

"Uh yeah, teamwork." She stated, sliding on top of the post.

"Just working together?" Sakura mumbled.

"Yes. If all four of you had come after me then you might have been able to grab the bells. Anyway, it's over."

"You set it up with four people, but three bells. If we worked together and got the bells then afterward it would lead to group conflict and we would break up." Sakura pointed out.

 _"Sakura, shut up already, I've heard your voice enough already_." Neko thought.

"Exactly, I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could put the squad ahead of yourselves. A genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. Sakura, you obsessed about Sasuke who wasn't there while Naruto was in front of you and you didn't lift a finger to help him. Naruto, you do everything on your own. And Sasuke, you thought the others were inferior to you. Neko, you did think of teamwork, but when I stood right beside you, you didn't even recognize my voice, or look up to see it was me until you voiced your whole plan to me. You were completely oblivious to the fact that I was right there. Missions are carried out in squads. You do need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every shinobi should understand this. When an individual puts him or herself above the squad it can lead to failure and death. For example, Sakura kill Naruto now or sasuke dies." Kakashi explained putting a kunai to Sasuke's throat. Naruto looked between Sakura and Kakashi in surprise. "See, the enemy takes someone hostage and you've got an impossible choice. Then someone will end up dead. Your life is on the line on every mission." Kakashi stood up and began walking to a memorial stone. "Did you ever look at this stone and the names on it? They are all heros of the village."

"That's it, that's it, that's it! Now I know! I'm going to have my name put on that stone. I'm going to be a hero!" Naruto claimed.

"They're a special kind of hero." Kakashi said calmly.

"What kind of hero are they? Tell us." Naruto demanded, still not understanding where this was going.

"They're all KIA."

"Oh. That sounds really cool." Neko refrainded from hittiing him as she said,

"It means killed in action. They all died." Naruto looked down feeling a little guilty.

"This is a memorial stone, and the names of some of my closest friends are here." After a few moments of silence Kakashi turned back to the group. "Alright, I'm going to give you one more chance. But this time it will be much harder. You only have three hours to obtain a bell. You can eat your lunch, but Naruto gets none." Naruto growled. "It's your punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat by yourself. And if anyone attempts to feed them, then they will immediately fail. I make the rules and you follow them. Got it?" Kakashi asked. Neko smirked knowing exactly what he wanted. He jumped off. Neko began laughing as hard as she could.

"You should've seen his face when I showed him his book! It was hilarious. He was all like 'oh no my book, my precious best friend.' and I just took the bell and left." She continued laughing. Naruto and Sakura cracked a smile. Sakura and Sasuke began to eat while Neko walked over to Naruto with her food. "Eat." She demanded holding it out. Naruto, and Sakura looked shocked.

"Neko you heard what sensei said. He made the rule-"

"Rules don't apply to me." Neko said. "Now eat before I force feed you." Naruto looked confused.

"She's right." Sasuke said. "Kakashi is gone and we need to get the bells together. If Naruto is hungry he won't help much. That can jeopardize the mission." Neko smiled before activating her kekkei genkai and jumping back. She didn't know whether it was out of fear or shock, but she did see her sensei's chakra outline behind the tree.

"Sakura feed Naruto, there's something I wanna check out. I thought I saw a squirrel over there." Neko lied running over to the tree leaving Sakura to feed Naruto. "Sensei, you're going to have to find a better hiding spot." Neko sighed, walking right in front of Kakashi. He was clearly shocked that she knew he was there but he hid it well when he noticed her Tassei Hitomi was activated.

"So you figured it out eh?" He asked. Neko smirked before replying.

"Actually, I didn't really until Sasuke explained it. I wasn't really hungry since I ate breakfast, but Naruto's my friend so I wouldn't just let him starve like that." Kakashi mentally chuckled.

"But there is one problem. I do think you over exaggerated my reaction." Neko chuckled before she began to walk back to her group.

"If you saw yourself, you would be thinking otherwise." She teased before she began running. "It wasn't a squirrel. I think I was just imagining things." She told them.

"Hn. Whatever, just keep watch." Sasuke said.

"Yes 'Oh Great Lord Uchiha.'" Neko mocked.

"Don't call Sasuke that." Sakura demanded.

"Whatever princess pinky." Neko mumbled. Suddenly a tornado of smoke landed right in front of them, and in the middle of it sat Kakashi.

"YOU," He began yelling. "You broke the rules I hope you're ready for the punishment." He did some handsigns and thunder clouds rolled in. "Any last words." Neko sighed and faced him.

"I'll be honest, I told this to Iruka-sensei and I'll say it to you. Rules were made to be broken. And truthfully, I could care less if I passed or failed. I don't think I would want a perverted sensei like you." Neko said. Everyone sweatdropped.

"But you said, YOU SAID THAT THERE WERE FOUR OF US THAT'S WHY-" Naruto began.

"We're all on this squad and all in it together." Sasuke added.

"We gave him our lunch because the four of us are one." Sakura continued.

"I already voiced my opinion." Neko sighed. "But I guess I'll go with them. Whatever helps me pass." Neko said lazily.

"YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH! THAT'S RIGHT!" Naruto shouted.

"The four of you are one? That's your excuse?" Kakashi asked approaching them. Hmph. You pass." Everyone looked at him questioningly. "You. Pass."

"How did we pass?" Sakura asked him. The clouds slowly faded out of the scene.

"You're the first squad to succeed. The others fell into my trap. They didn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum-"

" _Consider me scum."_ Neko thought holding back a laugh.

"-those who abandon their friends are considered worse than scum." Kakashi finished

"He's kinda cool." Naruto said.

"Everyone passes and squad seven starts its first mission tomorrow." Kakashi said giving a thumbs up. Naruto began cheering and Kakashi turned around saying, "Let's go home." Everyone but Naruto and Neko began walking away.

"I knew they'd do this!" Naruto complained.

"Did you forget about me already?" Neko asked. Naruto looked at her with pleading eyes. "Maybe I should just, I dunno leave you there." She began playing with her hair.

"Neko please let me out!" Naruto begged. Neko sighed before cutting the rope with her kunai.

-8888888888888888888888888888-

"Lord Hokage, I've come to report." Kakashi said as he reached the Hokage's office, not surprised to see Asuma and Kurenai.

"Yes Kakashi, how did squad seven do?" The sandaime asked, truly curious.

"They all passed." Kakashi stated with a smile.

"R-really?" Kurenai asked him.

"Yup!" He stated before his face turned solemn, remembering what happened to his book.

"Kakashi? What's wrong?" Asuma asked. Kakashi pulled his book out of his pouch.

"Neko found my book." Was all he needed to say. Kurenai laughed, happy that someone finally tore that thing up.

"She is really a unique girl." The hokage chuckled.


	3. C-Rank Mission

**Hey guys, I really like writing this story so far so I hope you guys enjoy reading it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I only own Neko, Nikita, and the Jutsus I create.**

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

"Sasuke, I'm at point B."

"Sakura, point C."

"Neko, point D."

"Naruto, I'm at point A. Believe it."

"You're too slow Naruto. The target has moved!" Kakashi stated over the radio. Neko snickered from the tree she was sitting in. This was going to be fun. "What's your distance from the target?"

"Five meters-"

" _One inch."_ Neko thought holding back a laugh.

"I'm ready just give the signal." Naruto finished.

"I'm ready too." Sasuke stated.

"So am I." Sakura said.

"Me as well." Neko lied as she leaned against the back of the tree.

"Okay… NOW!" Everyone except Neko and Kakashi charged towards the cat. When Naruto went to grab it, it poofed into smoke. Neko bursted out laughing.

"I can't believe you fell for that cheap trick." She shouted causing everyone to look at her. Neko was sitting on a tree branch, with the cat on her lap purring. The cat jumped out of her lap and tackled Naruto.

"Can you verify a ribbon on the right ear?" Kakashi asked.

"Affirmative." Neko said.

"Lost pet Tora captured. Mission accomplished." Neko walked over to Naruto and picked up the cat.

"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS! I HATE CATS!" Naruto screamed through the mic.

" **Love you too fox boy."** Nikita growled. Neko smiled as they walked back to the village.

"How long were you in that tree branch?" Sakura asked her.

"A couple minutes after the mission started I found the cat. I thought it would be funny to watch you guys go after it so I created a shadow clone and made it transform, therefore making you believe that the shadow clone was the actual cat." Neko explained as she ran her hand through Tora's fur. They entered the building and Neko was tackled down by a woman, who grabbed Tora and started rubbing her cat against her.

"Stupid cat. That kitty deserves to be squashed." Naruto laughed.

"No wonder he ran away." Sakura stated. Neko walked in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, you know what my name means right?" She asked him. "You know what the word Neko means, right?" Naruto looked confused and Sakura cracked a smile. "IT MEANS CAT YOU IDIOT!" Neko shouted hitting Naruto in the head.

"Now then." The hokage began. "For squad seven's next mission we have a bunch of things available. Babysitting, shopping, picking potatoes-"

"NO!" Naruto interrupted. "I wanna go on a real mission." Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid crap!"

" _He's got a point."_ Sasuke thought.

" _He's such a pain."_ Sakura inwardly groaned

" _I agree."_ Neko added to Naruto's complaint in her mind.

" _I knew this was coming."_ Kakashi sighed.

"How dare you! You're just a brand new genin with no experience!" Iruka yelled standing up from his chair. "Like everyone else, you will start with simple tasks until you prove you're ready for something harder!"

"Are you serious! Babysitting isn't a mission it's just a stupid-" Kakashi hit Naruto on his head making him fall.

"Would you put a lid on it?" Kakashi lazily said.

"Naruto, it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given. Many different requests come into our village everyday. Ranging from babysitting to assassination. The requests are recorded, and analyzed then ranked A, B, C, or D. All depending on their difficulty. Ninja are also ranked by their ability. The highest being Hokage, then Jounin, Chūnin, and Genin at the bottom. At the highest level we will select the ninja who withhold the appropriate skill. If the mission is successful we receive a payment that supports the village and our work. Since you are genin just starting down the path, you are given D level assignments."

"So I had this tonkatsu ramen yesterday and I'm thinking Miso ramen today-"

"Silence!" The hokage yelled.

"Oh sorry." Kakashi apologized rubbing the back of his head.

"You always lecture me like you're my grandfather. But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time-"

" _I still pull pranks."_ Neko mentally chuckled.

"-I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!"

"I'm going to hear about this later." Kakashi muttered. The hokage began to chuckle.

"Naruto wants us to know that he's not brat. He's a former brat, and he wants a mission. So be it. Since you are so determined I have decided to offer you a C-Ranked Mission. You're going to be bodyguards on a journey."

"YES! Who? Who? A princess, or a big wigged counselor?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Send in our visitor." The hokage demanded. The door opened to reveal a man with a bottle of sake.

"A bunch of snot nosed kids?" He then chugged down some of his drink. "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe you are ninja?" Naruto began laughing.

"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his face?" He asked before noticing that he and Neko were the shortest. "It's you." He said pointing at Neko.

"No! You're the shortest!" Neko retorted.

"No, I'm at least half an inch taller than you!" Naruto claimed.

"You're wrong! We all know that I'm the taller one between the two of us!"

"Really? Wh-"

"I was talking about the blonde haired boy." Tazuna interrupted. Neko burst out into laughter while Naruto's face turned red.

"I'LL DEMOLISH YOU!" Naruto shouted but was held back by Kakashi.

"You can't demolish the client Naruto, it doesn't work that way." Kakashi said casually. "But Neko, Naruto does look like the taller one." Neko groaned.

"And are you sure you're that strong? I mean you look so puny." Tazuna said referring to Neko. Neko held back a growl before putting on a sweet smile and looking up at Tazuna.

"My name is Neko, and even though I may seem puny, I'll do my best to protect you." She said, holding out her hand. Tazuna took it before seeing her smirk. She flipped him over her head, making him land on his butt. "Oh, did I do that? I'm so sorry." Naruto held back a laugh while Sakura stared shocked. Tazuna quickly recovered and stood up.

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I am building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to bring me there safely, even if it means giving your life."

" **This is going to be a long trip**." Nikita sighed.

" _You got that right."_

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Squad seven and the bridge builder began walking out of Konoha.

"YEAH, alright!" Naruto said putting his hands in the air.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"This is the first time I ever left the village, I'm a traveler now believe it." Naruto said looking around.

"I've been out of the village before." Neko claimed.

"Really?" Naruto asked, getting even more excited.

"Yeah, at my old village." Neko stated.

"Am I supposed to trust my life with this runt? He's a joke." Tazuna asked

"He's with me and I'm a jounin." Kakashi chuckled. "So you shouldn't have any worries." Naruto turned to Tazuna.

"Never insult a ninja, it's big mistake. I'm one of the greatest ninja ever. Someday I'll become hokage and you'll have to admit I'm the best. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, remember it."

"Hokage are powerful and wise while you are puny and brainless The day you become the hokage I'll sprout wings and fly."

"I'm willing to become the hokage no matter what it takes, and when I do then everyone will have to admit that I'm the best." Naruto countered.

"You can become hokage ten times over and to me you'll still be a nobody." Tazuna said as he began walking. Neko sighed and followed.

" , your country is the land of waves, correct?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, what of it." Tazuna rebuked.

"Kakashi-sensei, there are ninja in the land of waves right?" Sakura asked.

"No. There are no ninja in the land of waves. But in other countries there are hidden villages, each with their own customs and cultures, where ninja reside. The existence of shinobi villages mean military strength, according to the people of this continent. That's how they protect themselves and maintain the power of balance between nearby countries. Ninja villages aren't controlled by government. They are independant and have equal status. A small island like the land of waves has natural protection from the sea, giving it no reason to have a ninja village." Neko jumped up, landing on her hands, and she began to walk like that.

"Why are you walking on your hands?" Sakura asked interrupting Kakashi's speech.

"So I don't fall on the ground. Duh! Why are you walking on your feet?" Neko retorted.

"But, why don't you walk on your feet?" She continued. Neko held back a groan.

"If it really matters to you then fine." She said before pushing up on the ground and flying into the air, landing on Naruto's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and legs around his waist saying, "Giddy up!" Naruto cheered and began running forward. "Wait!" He stopped. Neko whispered something in his ear and he seemed to think before turning around. Naruto walked in front of Sasuke and him and Neko stared at him.

"He seems more of an emo duck to me." Naruto stated bluntly.

"Hmm yeah you're right." Neko said scratching her chin. Sasuke growled at them and Naruto turned around and began running, only to fall into a puddle, Neko sitting on top of him.

"Watch where you're going Naruto." Kakashi sighed. "And Neko don't tease your teammate." Neko groaned and got off of Naruto. The group didn't get very far without being attacked. Two ninjas jumped out, attacking Kakashi, and making him disappear. One went towards Neko, and the other Tazuna. Neko jumped up pulling out a kunai, and she hit the ninja's chain into a tree. She kicked him, knocking him into the tree, before pinning his clothes to the tree with a shuriken. Neko stood up straight and felt a hand placed on her shoulder.

"Very nice job Neko." Kakashi said, giving her an eye smile. Neko nodded at him.

"Thanks perverted-sensei." Everyone's eyes widened. Kakashi sighed and turned back to the group knowing exactly why he was being called this.

"Hey," Neko heard Sasuke say to Naruto. "You're not hurt are ya? Scaredy cat."

" **I'm going to kill the writer of that reference!"** Nikita growled.

"Naruto stand still, these ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out quickly. It's in your blood so stand still. Okay? If you move then the poison will spread. By the way we need to talk." Kakashi said. "They're chūnin from the village hidden in the mist. They keep fighting no matter what." Kakashi explained.

"How did you know about our ambush?" One asked.

"Well to be honest I don't think I would've noticed it because I was distracted by Naruto and Neko. But when they fell into the puddle I took notice of it. A puddle, on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks."

"In that case, why'd you leave it for the runts to fight?" Tazuna asked.

"I could have taken them out quickly. If I did I wouldn't have learned anything. I had to know who their target was. And what they were after. The first one went after Neko, that's true but it wasn't because they were after her, it was because she was the farthest from the group."

"What are you getting at?" Tazuna said.

"I wanted to know if they were after us, or you? When you put in your request you asked for standard protection. You never told us that there were ninja after you. If we were aware of this then the mission would be a B-rank or higher. The task given to us was to get you to your destination, and protect you from robbers, not from other ninja. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." Kakashi explained.

"We are Genin and this is too advanced for us. And we really need to treat Naruto's wound. There is a hospital back in our village where we can take him to get treated." Sakura said.

"Naruto's hand could be a problem. I guess we should return." Kakashi sighed.

"Come on, can't we keep going? I can bandage his wound and help get out the poison. This is the first real mission we've received." Neko complained. Naruto growled and stabbed himself with his kunai. Neko ignored what he said, staring at the blood falling from his hand.

"Naruto, uh that was really cool how you took the poison out and all but if you lose any more blood, you're going to die." Kakashi stated bluntly, causing Neko to growl and walk up to Naruto with bandages.

"Sensei, I'm pretty sure we all know Naruto well enough to not say things like that, no matter how true they are." She grumbled as Naruto panicked.

"Naruto, you've got a self abusive personality." Sakura scolded.

"And you've got an annoying personality." Neko said to the pinkette casually. After Neko bandaged Naruto the group continued walking. Their plan was to walk to the boat place thing Tazuna told them about, and talk to Tazuna on the boat. That's where they would decide whether they should continue or not. Of course the walk there was a pain in the butt. For Sasuke at least.

" sir?" Neko asked approaching him. "Can I see your hat for just a second?"

"And why's that brat?" Tazuna asked her with a scowl. Neko gave him the same sweet smile she gave him when they first met. Tazuna mentally shivered and handed the girl his hat. Neko smirked before walking over to Sasuke. She walked in front of him, but faced him, walking backwards. She placed the hat on him and laughed, causing Naruto to look over at the two. Naruto joined Neko, while Sasuke growled taking off the hat and tossing it to Tazuna. Neko giggled along with Naruto.

"Come on, you looked good with the hat on. It hid most of your ugly duck butt hair."

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

The boat ride to the other side, in Neko's words, was the worst thing that's happened this whole trip. The whole entire ride Nikita kept saying,

" **Don't fall in, the water is bad, cats don't like it, don't touch it."** Neko was already annoyed enough, she didn't need her tailed beast to annoy her even more. Neko stood by Kakashi as they walked. Tazuna told them about the tyrant Gatō, and how he has taken control of the land of waves. Naruto tossed a kunai into the bush, catching Neko's attention.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as Kakashi pulled out a rabbit. Neko thought before walking over.

"Hey sensei, can I see it? I can try to heal it." Kakashi looked at the rabbit for a couple more seconds before shouting,

"GET DOWN!" As a sword flew by. Kakashi pushed Neko into the forest, leaving everyone else in the clearing. Neko watched from the shadows as a tall man appeared. He had a white mask similar to Kakashi, and cow print clothing. Neko was about to run into the clearing but then she remembered the look on Kakashi's face when he threw her back. Complete seriousness. That means, that this person was strong. Neko turned around and jumped up into a tree. She pulled some shuriken out of her pouch and waited. Kakashi had a kunai at Zabuza's neck, and they were talking. Neko couldn't hear it from where she was. A hand grabbed her and pulled her back. Right before she could let out a scream another hand appeared in front of her mouth, muffling the noise. The person pulled her deeper into the forest until they reached a far distance from the group.

"I can't have you messing up the plans." The guy said as he let Neko go. Neko jumped away, and turned to face him. He had long black hair, and a dress-like item with a thing similar to a jacket on. You could tell by his face he was a boy.

"Who are you?" Neko growled.

"That's not important now. Right now, your focus is to get back to your friends before they die." The guy said.

"Then why did you bring me here! I need to help my team!" Neko nearly shouted. She took off in a sprint. The boy appeared right in front of her, blocking her way back. Neko sent a punch. He dodged, and Neko sent another one before jumping back. She growled making hand signs. "Fire style: Flaming Cat Claw!" She shouted. The cat paw formed and she willed it to swipe at him. He jumped back and stared at the chakra paw in awe. Neko swiped at him again, and she hit the end of his skirt, leaving a small part of the garment burnt. The boy jumped toward her, with a kunai in his hand, after the paw faded away, Neko made a sprint towards her team. She was just about there when she felt a slice go down her left arm, and was kicked in the back, sending her crashing into the ground, rolling right in front of Naruto.

"NEKO." Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi shouted. Sasuke just looked shocked. Neko didn't even notice the blood running down her arm. Kakashi was captured in a water prison, and there were two Zabuzas.

"So there's another little brat? Do you really believe you're a ninja. You look short and weak." Neko clawed the ground to keep her from punching Zabuza herself. Slowly she picked herself off the ground and looked to the rouge ninja.

"Excuse me , did I hear you correctly?" Neko asked innocently. Zabuza laughed.

"Of course you heard me, or am I too tall for you shorty." Neko smirked and cracked her knuckles.

"Good then." She said before creating a bunch of shadow clones. Two clones walked over to Naruto and Sasuke while the rest charged screaming about not being short. Naruto nodded after the clone finished instructed and created clones of himself. His charged right behind Neko's. Zabuza sliced through the clones, but didn't notice what was happening between the three kids. Neko transformed one of her clones into Naruto, and Naruto transformed into a shuriken. The fake Naruto tossed the shuriken to Sasuke who quickly pulled out his own.

"Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows." Sasuke said before launching the shuriken at Zabuza. But the plan wasn't done yet.

"Fire Style: Fire Spark Jutsu." Neko mumbled adding fire to the shuriken. The flaming shuriken went past the water clone and directly towards the real one. Neko smirked. Zabuza carefully caught the real shuriken, being cautious of the flames, and noticed the second shuriken, that wasn't sparking flames. Zabuza jumped over the second shuriken. The shuriken poofed and turned into Naruto, and Naruto threw a kunai at Zabuza. Neko snapped her finger and the sparks of fire on the shuriken Zabuza was holding turned into flames. Zabuza, let go of the prison and threw the shuriken into the water. Kakashi then stepped in front of Zabuza, keeping him from jumping at Naruto. Naruto fell into the water, and smiled.

"Naruto, that was an excellent plan, you've really grown haven't you?" Kakashi praised.

"Actually sensei, it was Neko's plan. I just went along. But it was awesome. Neko used one of her shadow clones to transform into me, while I transformed into the shuriken. The clones were just a distraction, so Zabuza wouldn't see it. Then when sasuke threw the shuriken, Neko set the first one on fire, hoping Zabuza would have to let go of the prison. I was just the backup." Naruto explained. Kakashi was surprised and Neko just sighed.

"What? He called me short. What do you expect me to do, just sit there and listen?" Neko claimed crossing her arms.

"THE WHOLE THING WAS JUST A FLUKE!" Tazuna said.

"I got distracted and lost my grip on the water prison." Zabuza growled.

"Don't flatter yourself. You weren't distracted, you were forced to let go. Your technique worked on me once, but it won't work a second time. So what's it gonna be?" Kakashi asked. Neko sighed and shook her head, finally feeling the pain from the cut the other ninja gave her. She uncrossed her arms and covered the wound with her right hand, trying to hide it.

"Sakura, Neko, you know what to do." Sasuke demanded. Neko rolled her eyes before moving into position. Kakashi knocked the shuriken away and Sakura looked over to Neko.

"That was a really good plan Neko." she complimented.

"Thanks, I guess." Neko mumbled. Sakura smiled. Neko looked back over to see Kakashi and Zabuza both doing hand signs. Two water dragons came out from the water in between them. Both dragons attacking each other. Neko saw Naruto still in the water and mumbled a string of curse words.

"Sasuke, watch my spot." She said before jumping towards Naruto. She did some handsigns and mumbled, "Water shield." and a shield of water protected Naruto from the waves. Neko jumped, grabbing him and pulling him out, landing beside the group.

"Thanks Neko." Naruto said. Neko just nodded, biting her lip. Naruto looked at her arm.

"Your ar-"

"It's fine." She interrupted in a calm voice. Getting back into her spot. A wave of water came towards them and hit them, but the group stayed in the same spot. Both water dragons disappeared, leaving Kakashi and Zabuza both attacking each other. Kakashi with a kunai, and Zabuza with his sword. They both jumped away from each other, putting their weapons away. Sakura gasped and Sasuke held a slightly shocked expression on his face. Neko kept a stoic face and watched the fight, ignoring the pain in her arm. The cut was deeper than she thought. Kakashi then began copying Zabuza's every movement. Neko felt another presence near them.

"He's not just following, he moves the same way at the same time." Tazuna said referring to Kakashi.

"How's he doing that? How is he doing that Sasuke?" Sakura asked. Sasuke stayed silent.

"Going to do next?" Kakashi suddenly said. "It makes you furious, doesn't it."

"Hah, all you're doing is copying me." Zabuza retorted. "Like a monkey."

"You can'beat me with cheap tricks. I'll crush you." They both said at the same time. Then they both began doing hand signs, but Zabuza randomly stopped, while Kakashi continued.

"Water style: Giant Vortex Jutsu." Kakashi said. The water tore through trees, taking Zabuza with it. Zabuza ended up against a tree gasping for air. Neko smirked.

" _Finally."_ She thought. Kakashi sent four kunai at Zabuza stabbing him.

"You're finished." Kakashi said as the water retreated to back to the river, leaving fallen trees in its place.

"How? Can you see into the future?" Zabuza rasped, looking up at Kakashi who was sitting on a branch above him.

"Yes. This is your last battle, ever." But before Kakashi could attack, two senbon needles flew and hit Zabuza in the neck. Zabuza cried out in pain and hit the ground. Neko looked to where the two needles came from and saw the same boy from earlier. Even though he had a mask she could still tell it was him by the clothes and the hair.

"You." She muttered.

"You were right, it was his last battle." He said. Kakashi jumped down to Zabuza and put a hand on his neck, checking for a pulse.

"No vital signs." He confirmed.

"Thank you, I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him down." The boy said bowing.

"By looking at your mask I can see that you are a tracker ninja, who comes from the village hidden in the mist." Kakashi stated.

"Impressive, you're well informed." The boy complimented.

"When a rouge ninja breaks away from his village he carries all kinds of secrets with him. The secrets of his people. Trackers are specially trained to hunt down these ninja and eliminate them. That way the secrets of their people are safe, and remain secrets." Sakura explained to Naruto.

" _Probably went through one ear and out the other."_ Neko thought.

" **Probably."** Nikita agreed.

"That's correct. I am a member of an elite tracking ninja in the village hidden in the mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza." The ninja explained. Neko noticed that a part of his skirt was burned and smirked. She wanted to tell Kakashi about how the ninja attacked her, but that would start another fight, and Kakashi looked to be in no fighting condition. Naruto ran up to the tracker ninja.

"What is this? Who do you think you are?" Naruto asked pointing to the boy, panting from exhaustion. "Did you hear me?"

"Easy Naruto." Kakashi halted. "He is not an enemy."

"That's not the point. Did you see what he did just like that? Zabuza was huge. And powerful just like some kind of monster. And this kid, who is no bigger than me, brought down Zabuza with one move. Like it was nothing. What does that make us?"

"He's got a point." Neko mumbled so only she could hear.

"We're just fumbling around, we don't know anything. How can I accept that?" Kakashi made his way to Naruto.

"Even if you do not accept it, it still happened Naruto. In this world there are kids younger than you and at the same time stronger than me." Kakashi said, putting his hand in Naruto's hair. Naruto flinched under Kakashi's palm. The boy went to Zabuza's body and picked it up.

"Your struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body the must not be allowed to get into the hands of our enemies. Please excuse me. Farewell." He said before disappearing. Kakashi turned to the group beside the bridge builder.

"We haven't completed the mission yet. We still need to get the bridge builder to his bridge." Kakashi said with a smile. Tazuna lifted up his hat.

"Sorry I caused all this trouble for you. You can rest at my house when we arrive at the village." Tazuna offered.

"Alright, let's get a move on." Kakashi commanded before turning around. He began walking but soon fell over. Everyone ran over to him and Neko quickly checked for any vital signs. She sighed with relief when she felt his pulse.

"He should be alright. My guess is he used to much chakra." She told the group. They nodded.

"Well here, one of you carry him and I'll lead the way." Tazuna said. Neko nodded before picking up Kakashi, and nearly dropping him.

"NOT IT!" She shouted. "He's heavy!" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Whatever twerp, I'll get him." Sasuke picked up Kakashi and the group began walking.


	4. Training and Talks

**Kittyluver: I do not own Naruto. If I did then Naruto would be a girl, and get married to Sasuke**

 **Naruto: WHAT!**

 **Kittyluver: You heard that? *Slowly backs away towards the door***

 **Naruto: Of course I did. Why would I be the girl?**

 **Kittyluver: Because then the main character would be a strong, pretty, and smart girl, no offense Sakura. *Opens door and leaves***

 **Neko: Can we just get on with the story already, I wanna go get some ramen already.**

 **-888888888888888888888888888-**

The group arrived to Tazuna's house and his daughter took Kakashi inside to rest.

"Excuse me, but your sensei woke up." Tsunami said catching the attention of the four kids. They rushed to Kakashi's room and saw looking straight up at the ceiling.

"Look sensei, your Sharingan is amazing and all, but if it puts too much strain on you I don't think it's worth it." Sakura claimed kneeling down by Kakashi.

"Sorry." Kakashi apologized.

"Huh, well you did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassins so we will be safe for awhile." Tazuna claimed.

"Yeah, right. But what about the boy in the mask we saw?" Sakura wondered.

"He's from an elite tracking unit from the village hidden in the mist. Those masks are only worn by elite shinobi. The ANBU Black Ops, also known as the Inferno Squad, burn all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse. The shinobi's body will contain many secrets. Ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village, if an enemy finds them then his village will be in grave danger. It is the job of a shinobi tracker to prevent anything like that from happening. If a ninja decides to betray his village then trackers come and hunt him down. Trying to get rid of his existence. That's their specialty." Kakashi explained, he then put a hand to his eye.

"Hey are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yeah, to finish with what I was saying. Tracker Ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot." Neko grimaced. "Think about, do you remember what the tracker did with Zabuza's body."

"Zabuza is still alive." Neko stated dryly earning her gasps and shocked looks. "The tracker ninja was a fake." Kakashi nodded.

"None of it adds up. He should've worked on the body instead of taking it away. And the tracker ninja used throwing needles." Kakashi said.

"This 'Tracker Ninja' wasn't trying to kill Zabuza. He was trying to save him." Neko said. Kakashi nodded in confirmation. "Okay, so then what's the plan? If he isn't dead then how are we supposed to beat him? You aren't really in tip top shape yourself." Neko gestured toward Kakashi.

"I can train you." Kakashi claimed.

"A little last minute training won't really help us." Sakura complained.

"I was only able to stop Zabuza because you all helped me. You've all grown. Naruto, you've grown the most."

"So you've noticed? Now things are going to get better, believe it!" Naruto said smiling.

"I don't believe it, and nothing is gonna be good." A new voice came from behind them.

"Inari, where have you been?" Tazuna asked. Inari ran to Tazuna and gave him a big hug.

"Welcome back grandpa!" Inari shouted.

"Inari that was very rude!" Tsunami scolded. "These ninja helped bring your grandpa home!"

"It's okay, I'm rude to them too." Tazuna said rubbing his hand on the top of Inari's hat.

"Mom, don't you see? These people are gonna die! Gato and his men are gonna come and wipe them out!" Inari claimed.

"What are you saying brat! This Gato or Blato, whatever he is, he's no match for a real hero like me!" Naruto claimed. Neko rolled her eyes deciding to stay quiet.

"There's no such thing as a hero, you're just full of stupid ideas." That caught Neko off guard. Her eyes widened and she looked at the ground.

" _I thought that was true at first. My dad said that I was a hero for having Nikita sealed into me, but the village treated me otherwise. Nobody was there to save my Dad. Nobody was there to save my village. And nobody was there to save me when I was taken. I had to do it all myself. I had to pick myself up after every fall. But then I realized I was wrong. The Hokage saved me from abandonment. He could have thrown me on the streets, but instead he gave me a home. Naruto saved me from loneliness by choosing to be my friend. Heroes come in many different ways."_ Neko thought, casting her gaze to Naruto who was yelling at Inari.

"If you wanna stay alive, you should go back to where you came from." Inari said before walking away. "I'm going to look out at the ocean, I wanna be alone." Then he walked out of sight. Kakashi sighed before turning to Neko.

"Neko, I would like to speak with you alone." He said. Neko nodded and everyone left the room. "I didn't know you could use Water Style jutsu."

"That's my chakra type. Water and Wind." She stated looking at the wall.

"Hmmm… Then what about the first time we saw each other. In front of those sound ninja?" He asked and her eyes widened.

"Wait a second. That was you?" She asked clearly shocked. Kakashi just nodded waiting for her to answer him. "Well, personally I have two chakra types. Water and Wind. Nikita's chakra types are Fire and Lightning. By tapping into her chakra I can use her chakra types, as well as using her chakra to make my own moves stronger." Neko explained. Kakashi nodded, taking all of the information in.

"What about your Tassei Hitomi why didn't you use that? It would have proved useful." Neko bit her lip looking down at the ground.

"The Tassei Hitomi isn't what you think it is. It's not something that can be activated every other second, like the Sharingan. The Sayumi clan never put this in the scrolls, and never told anyone about this because they didn't want the enemies to take advantage of it in a battle, but the Tassei Hitomi doesn't feed on chakra. It's so powerful that chakra isn't enough to keep it going. It feeds on the user's life source. Each time I activate it, it will use my life source for energy. That's why I only use it when I think I should, but also sometimes it randomly activates in the middle of a fight. I try to use it responsibly." Kakashi was clearly shocked with this information, but he thought back to a time not to long ago.

 _~Flashback~_

" _Oh what's this story about?" She asked. But when she opened to the first page she squeezed her eyes shut and opened the to reveal her kekkei genkai. "Sensei is a pervert! Sensei is a pervert!" She squealed. "Must report to base. Must report to base!" The clone then focused and teleported away, before Kakashi could get his beloved book back._

 _~Flashback End~_

"So teleporting a clone back to your original self just because your sensei is a pervert is responsible?" Kakashi asked. Neko blushed in embarrassment.

"Hey, I'm just a kid. I could care less about responsibilities." Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"You're free to go, but I will tell Lord Hokage about it. He must know." Neko nodded.

"I understand." She said before heading to the door.

"Wait, can you hand me my book? It's right over there." He said pointing to his backpack. Neko walked to it and picked it up, holding it with two fingers in disgust. She smirked before opening and tearing out all the pages, tossing them to Kakashi. The pages floated around before hitting the floor.

"Whoops." Neko innocently said.

"NOOOOOO! NOT AGAIN, MY BOOK! AND I WAS ALMOST FINISHED WITH IT TOO!" Kakashi screamed. Neko snickered and left the room, but once she stepped out she couldn't keep herself from bursting out into laughter. Sasuke and Sakura heard this and walked up to her laughing form.

"Why are you-"

"MY BOOK. NOW I HAVE TO USE ANOTHER 13.99 TO BUY ANOTHER COPY!"

"-laughing." Sakura asked, confused until she heard Kakashi. She just giggled and Sasuke smirked.

"That book was a perverted piece of trash." Neko stated. Sasuke smirked at her and she gave him a questioning look.

"You know Kakashi is gonna train us later. And since you ruined his book, he's not gonna go easy on you." Neko's eyes widened in fear.

"Oh no." She whispered. "KAKASHI," Neko screamed running back into the room. "I'M SORRY FOR WHAT I DID, BUT SASUKE MADE ME!" Sasuke's eyes widened. "He said if I didn't tear up your book then he would tell Naruto that I stole some ramen from his secret stash!" Neko claimed, surprising both Sasuke and Sakura.

"What?" Sasuke asked entering the room.

"MY BOOK!" Kakashi continued to cry.

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Everyone met up in a forest, where Neko was very reluctant to go. In fact Sasuke dragged her there. Kakashi was there with an evil smirk on his face, directed at Neko. She had to refrain from shuddering.

"Look, I said I was sorry." She said to him, causing his smirk to grow.

"Alright, training begins now. First we will start with a review of chakra, a ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is basically essential." Kakashi said, pointing one finger in the air.

"We know that." Sasuke said smugly. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, a long time ago we learned about catra." Neko shook her head in amusement.

"Chakra." Kakashi corrected. "Go on ahead Sakura." Kakashi gestured towards said girl.

"Alright Naruto. I'll explain it simply so you can understand. Chakra is the elemental energy a ninja uses in his jutsu. It's the source of all his power. This energy has two forms. Physical energy, which includes all the cells in the body working together, and spiritual energy with is intensified through training and experience. These two types of-" Sakura glared at Neko as the young girl had one hand moving to look like a mouth, mocking her. Neko innocently looked at Sakura.

"Please continue." Neko urged.

"These two types of chakra must be drawn out and fought together in order to perform jutsu. Hand signs will focus and unleash the chakra." Sakura finished.

"Right on all points, Iruka sensei really did have some excellent students." Kakashi praised.

"What's the point with the explanations. The whole point is to learn the jutsu isn't it?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto's right for once," Sasuke admitted. "We're already using chakra in the jutsu we perform."

"It's just like Sakura said, you need to draw on physical and spiritual energies, then combine them within yourself. Each jutsu requires different kinds of chakra. If you can't balance and control your chakra it's all worthless. The jutsu won't work at all, or it will just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way, then you find your chakra gone, and you won't be able to fight. You'll just be a target." Kakashi explained.

"How do we change that?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Train so hard that using your chakra becomes a second nature." Kakashi said.

"W-what do we have to do?" Sakura asked, causing kakashi to chuckle.

"Climb a tree." Everyone deadpanned.

"Climb a tree?" Everyone asked at the same time.

"That's right, but there is one rule. No hands." Kakashi stated. He did a hand sign and began walking up a tree, not using his hands to hold him up. "Well you get the idea." Kakashi said once he positioned himself upside down on a branch. "Focus your chakra at the ends of your feet and use it to climb up the tree." Neko smirked.

" _This is going to be easy."_ She faintly heard Nikita chuckled but decided not to question it.

"How does this help us when we're against Zabuza?" Sakura asked.

"It's the only way for us to fight Zabuza, Sakura. First you'll learn how to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body. This kind of climbing requires a subtle mix of spiritual and physical energy. The bottoms of the feet are the most difficult points to send chakra. If you can master this, you can master any jutsu, well theoretically. The second point is to learn to maintain your chakra levels." Neko sighed and closed her eyes, ignoring what Kakashi said. "-but that won't advance your skill. You need to apply the power of chakra, through training." Kakashi said tossing down four kunai. Neko eyed it suspiciously before picking it up. Kakashi gave her a closed eye smile. "Use the kunai to mark the highest point you can climb without your hands. Then try to get past that mark the next time, and the time after that. Run at the tree so you can use your momentum to carry you up. Ready?"

"Of course I'm ready sensei. I'll do this no sweat. Believe it! Remember what you said sensei, I'm the one who's grown the most." Naruto claimed, holding out his hand.

"You're definitely the one who talks the most. Now get focused and begin." Kakashi said sternly. Three out of the four students began focusing their chakra. Neko watched as they charged towards the tree together. Naruto took one step then fell on his back, whereas Sasuke ran far up but ended up creating a tiny crater in the tree, before marking his spot and back flipping off. Sakura on the other hand climbed far up.

" _It looks like Naruto didn't use enough chakra and Sasuke used too much. Sakura must've used the perfect amount."_ Neko concluded. She did a hand sign and concentrated her chakra, before making her way to the tree. She took seven steps before a shuriken landed right in front of her, making her lose her concentration. Of course she fell and hit the ground with a _THUMP_. Neko stood up and glared at Kakashi, who was sitting in his tree casually. Neko glared and turned back towards her tree trying again. She made it up two more steps, before she fell from being distracted by Kakashi, saying something.

-concentrate, and don't let anything distract you." Neko sent him another glare.

" _So this is his way of getting even. Alright, alright. I surrender."_ Neko made the hand sign before climbing up the tree, but this time she blocked out everything. Her eyes were closed, she ignored every sound, focusing solely on the tree. Neko made it up pretty high before a pebble hit her in the back of her head, making her head collide with the tree, and she lost her footing on the tree. Once the girl hit the ground she groaned looking up at her sensei.

"I'M SORRY OKAY? I promise I'll never burn, rip, or do anything to harm another one of your perverted books!" Kakashi gave her a closed eye smile accepting the apology. Then he pulled out the orange book and began reading. Neko glared at the book hoping it would burst into flames.

 **-8888888888888888888-**

Neko glanced towards Naruto only to see him fall once again. Sasuke was on one knee panting, and Sakura was lying down panting. Neko herself was tired, but she still had enough chakra to keep going. Naruto groaned and walked over to Sakura. Neko rolled her eyes and eyed her tree up and down. She was only behind Sasuke by a little bit. Sakura was sent to go guard Tazuna while the other three continued climbing. Neko continued training, ignoring Naruto's frustrated groans.

" **Concentrate little kit. Focus only on the tree. Ignore all outside distractions."** Nikita instructed. Neko sprinted towards the tree and ran up, not noticing the two boys on her tail. Naruto fell down after marking his new highest and Sasuke continued climbing, still following the unaware Neko. He marked his spot before jumping down from tree to tree. Both boys stared at Neko as she continued to run with amazing speed. Finally, when she reached a part of the tree close to the top she marked it and fell to the ground, panting. Neko leaned against the tree she just climbed and watched as Naruto began running to his own tree.

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke shouted causing Naruto to fall from shock.

"SASUKE! What are you doing? I was trying to focus my chakra!" Naruto shouted in anger. Sasuke approached Naruto and asked him something Neko couldn't hear. She looked back over to see them glaring at each other. Sasuke looking very annoyed and Naruto looked very smug. Neko sighed and looked up noticing the sun was almost completely gone.

"Guys come on it's time to go. We need to get back and eat dinner." Sasuke and Naruto both nodded and followed her as she walked back to the house.

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"I want some more!" Both Naruto and Sasuke shouted holding up their empty bowls. Both boys glared at each other before bending over and puking on the floor. Neko's face went pale and her stomach began to shake.

"I'll be back!" She whimpered before sprinting out of the room towards the bathroom. After emptying the contents of her dinner she walked back into the kitchen only to crash into Inari who was running. Tsunami quickly came over and Inari continued to run.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't hurt himself." Neko said before taking off after the boy. Neko followed the young boy into his room before walking in, not even bothering to knock.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked. Inari looked at her with tears in his eyes. Neko sighed before walking up to him. "Let's go somewhere else. A place with more open space." She carried the boy on to the roof. "So tell me what's wrong." Inari looked up at her.

"You wouldn't understand." He growled. Neko sighed again before looking down at the boy beside her. She looked back up at the sparkling night sky.

"I think I would understand more than you think." She told him. "No tell me what's wrong."

"I-it's that picture. Of my f-father. He was a hero. He even saved me. There were these kids who took my dog and renamed him as their own. Then the kids threw my dog into the ocean. I was pushed in, and I couldn't swim, but Poochi could. Poochi left me in the water to drown. But then I was saved. He wasn't even my real father, but I looked at him as if he was. He even saved this place by risking his life. But then when Gato came, everything fell apart." Inari clutched Neko's mini jacket and cried into her shirt. The girl embraced him and looked up at the sky. "Gato killed him. And put his death on a public display. Ever since then he ruled the Land of Waves." Inari said, but the words were muffled due to his face being pressed against Neko's shirt. She rubbed his back in attempt to calm him down.

"You're not the only one kid." Neko mumbled catching the young boy's attention. "My dad was murdered when I was three. I saw his body and the Murder. Then I blacked out. I woke up in the hospital and then ever since then everyone looked at me differently. They gave me looks of hate. But here I am now. Alive and happy." Neko said. She looked down at Inari and chuckled once she realized the boy was asleep. "I better get you back inside." She said to herself smiling. Neko carried the young boy into his room through his window. After dropping the kid off she made her way back to the roof. Pulling her knees to her chest and her arms holding them there, she looked up at the moon.

" _Mom, Dad. I wish you were here to see me now. I think you would be proud."_ She sighed.

"Stupid." She mumbled. "Looking at the moon isn't gonna bring them back."

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Neko woke up and got dressed. Sighing as she walked down stairs. She was greeted by Sakura, Sasuke, Tsunami, Inari, Tazuna, and Kakashi in the kitchen. Tsunami gave Neko a silent thank you before continuing her work. Neko nodded in response and sat by Inari.

"Naruto's not here? He's been gone all night I guess." Tazuna said. Neko furrowed her eyebrows.

"Naruto has gone completely crazy, he is out climbing trees in the dark, he could be dead by now." Sakura stated matter-o-factly.

"Well I hope he's okay. A child in the woods alone." Tsunami said.

"There's nothing to worry about. Naruto maybe a goofy kid but he's a full-fledged ninja. He can handle himself." Kakashi assured her.

"Sakura's right. Naruto is such a loser. He's probably lying out there dead somewhere." Sasuke said. Neko slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

"That's enough!" She nearly shouted. "Have some faith in him, he's your teammate! So what, he may not be very bright, but at least he tries. You can't just go around pushing him down because at least he is training. You're just sitting here enjoying yourself while he is out there hard at work." She began walking to the door. "I'm going out for a bit, don't bother me unless you want to lose an arm." The door slammed shut and Neko walked away from the house into the forest.

" _At least he tries things! It just comes to them naturally. They're just so spoiled! It makes me so frustrated to watch them put down someone who has tried so hard to achieve his greatest dream! STUPID, SPOILED, BRATS!"_ Neko shouted in her mind, punching a tree. After a while Neko sighed and leaned against the tree sitting down, taking notice of the two boys coming towards her.

"OH, hey Neko!" Naruto greeted, Sasuke walked up behind him. Neko gave him a nod before standing up.

"Hey," She said. "Let's make a bet. I bet that I can make it to the top of the tree in one run." She said arrogantly. Naruto smirked.

"You're on!" He shouted. Both of them stood beside each other and did the hand sign. Sprinting towards different trees both Naruto and Neko charged forward. Naruto stopped running high up, but Neko continued to run. She made it to the top of the tree and grinned, looking at the view below her. It was breathtaking.

"HEY NARUTO, HURRY UP AND GET UP HERE THE VIEW IS GREAT!" Neko shouted hoping to encourage her friend. Sasuke just watched with no interest. "YOU TOO, YOU WANNABE DUCK!" Sasuke twitched while Naruto laughed.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Naruto laid on the tree branch in exhaustion, watching Kakashi and Sakura come over. Launching his kunai at them he saw them both look up at him, and something interesting came to his mind. Suddenly he 'fell' backwards, causing Sakura to scream in worry. He landed upside down on the branch and laughed.

"Haha just kidding! You guys really fell for it." He began laughing again.

"We were worried about you Naruto!" Sakura shouted. Suddenly Naruto's foot detached from the branch. He screamed as he began falling but stopped when he realized Sasuke saved him. "Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

"AH- STUPID BIRD!" A familiar voice shouted as a figure fell from the top of one of the trees. Kakashi and Sakura's eyes widened when they noticed it was Neko who was falling. She quickly ran through some hand signs. "Water Release: Water Shield!" And a shield of water protected her as she hit the ground. Kakashi and Sakura sighed in relief as Neko got up. "Stupid bird woke me up." She grumbled walking over to another tree but stopped when she noticed Naruto and Sasuke. She began squealing and cheering, surprising everyone.

"Uhh Neko, are you okay?" Sakura asked. Neko gaped at her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN AM I OKAY? I'M MORE THAN OKAY, DON'T YOU SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING! I KNEW IT! YES!" Neko screamed. Sakura stared at her confused, as did everyone else. "SASUNARU! MY SHIP HAS SAILED!" Sakura's eyes widened before she joined Neko and Kakashi chuckled as Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened and Sasuke dropped Naruto.

"If I'm still sane by the end of their training it will be a miracle." He mumbled.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Everyone except Naruto and Sasuke sat at the dinner table.

"Now they're both late. I wouldn't have expected that from Sasuke." Sakura said and Neko giggled.

"Who knows, maybe they're admitting their feeling for each other." Neko grinned mischievously. "I mean they have kissed before." The door opened and both boys walked in.

"What have you been up to? You look like something the cat dragged in." Tazuna stated. Nikita growled.

" **Cats are not what you think! We do not drag in puny mice like these!"** Neko held back a laugh.

"We climbed all the way to the top." Naruto said.

"Good, starting tomorrow you are both bodyguards for Tazuna." Kakashi stated. Naruto cheered and fell back pulling Sasuke with him.

"SasuNaru~" Neko sung earning a glare from Sasuke. Both boys sat down and joined everyone else to dinner. After they finished eating Tazuna began to speak,

"In a few days the bridge will be finished, and I have you to thank for that, but I have a question I've been meaning to ask you. Why did you stay and protect me after I lied to get you to come?" Neko looked at him with a grin.

"Because old man, it's better to help someone out of the mud instead of throw them back in." Neko stated. Kakashi nodded.

"All this training is a waste of time, Gato's got a whole army and they'll beat you down and destroy you!" Inari said.

"Not if we let them." Neko retorted.

"All these cool things you say, it's not true. The strong always win and the weak always lose!" Inari continued.

"Speak for yourself got that?" Naruto said.

"Be quiet! You make me sick! You don't know anything about this country you're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around. You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt." Naruto's eyes darkened, and Neko held back a growl.

"Shut up!" She snapped heading for the door. "Inari, you may think Gato is strong, but just wait. I'll show you, we will all show you that he is truly weak." Neko said before storming off. She sat in a tree looking at the moon. "I promise Inari, we will save this place." She mumbled.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Neko returned at midnight only to see Kakashi just walking inside. She entered the house and walked to her bed falling asleep. When she woke up she got dressed and headed downstairs with the others, excluding Naruto, who were ready to leave. After talking with Tsunami the group left to go to the bridge.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

 **A/N: And that's it for chapter four! Hope you all enjoyed! I haven't decided who Neko should end up with. I have narrowed it down to Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara, but I can't decided yet. I want to try to make Naruto a brother figure for Neko, that way they'll be close, but I'm not sure about making him Neko's romantic interest. Anyways, thanks for reading, don't forget to review!**

 **O(^^)O**


	5. Zabuza Returns

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

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"Hold on, what the heck is this?" Tazuna asked as they approached the bridge see most of the builders lying on the ground. Suddenly a mist surrounded the group.

"Sasuke, Sakura, Neko. Be ready." Kakashi said

"It's Zabuza isn't it. This is his hidden mist jutsu." Sakura stated.

"Sorry I kept you waiting kakashi. I see you've still kept those brats with you." Zabuza said. Neko took a step forward and shook her hands back and forth.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Am I the only one who thinks that it's weird, that once we get to the bridge, Zabuza appears all healed around the same time kakashi got better? That sounds like a major coincidence, doesn't it?" Neko asked. Zabuza rolled his eyes as well as everyone else on team seven.

"That one's still trembling." Zabuza said. Not responding to Neko's early statement. Suddenly Zabuza clones appeared around them, and Sasuke smirked.

"I'm trembling with excitement." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Go on Sasuke." Kakashi told him with a smile. Zabuza swung his sword, but Sasuke quickly destroyed all the water clones.

"Show off." Neko complained. "I wanna destroy something to!" She picked up a pebble and crushed it.

"So you could see they were water clones, the brats are improving. Looks to me like you got a rival Haku." Zabuza said stepping forward with the masked boy, Haku.

"So it seems." Haku calmly said. The water surrounded the group and Neko took note of that. She could use this to her advantage.

"It was all an act, I had it right in the first place." Kakashi stated while Neko moved behind him and started to weave hand signs. "With a cute little mask."

"Heh, big phony." Sasuke muttered.

"They look chummy to me, I'd say that these two have been pulling scams like this for a long time, and hiding behind a mask, who does he think he's fooling." Kakashi continued.

"Speak for yourself sensei." Sakura stated.

"I'm taking him out. Hiding behind that mask like a clown." Neko shivered at the word.

"Sasuke, you're so cool." Sakura cheered. Neko and Kakashi sweatdropped.

"He's impressive. Even though they were just one tenth the strength of the original jutsu he did destroy them all." Haku said.

"That move gave us the first advantage, now use it." Zabuza ordered.

"You're wrong." Kakashi said jumping out of the way as Neko finished her hand signs.

"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!" Neko shouted and the water on the bridge rose at the movement of her hands. It shot towards the surprised Zabuza and Haku at a fast speed, causing both of them to jump. Neko willed the water to follow them, and it came crashing towards the rouge ninja. Zabuza and Haku separated, and the water followed Zabuza. Neko willed it to flow faster, but before it hit Zabuza a senbon pierced her arm, causing her to drop the wave and her jutsu ended. Neko panted and pulled the needle out. Zabuza laughed.

"That's one heck of a student you got Kakashi." He said. Haku began running to the group. Sasuke held his kunai up and blocked the senbon Haku held against it. The weapons clashed and and both boys pushed against each other.

"Sakura, cover Tazuna and stay close to me. Sasuke can handle Haku but Neko once things look back help him." The sound of metal hitting metal could be heard as Sasuke and Haku continued to attack.

"-I've gained two key advantages." Neko heard Haku say.

"Yeah, and what are they?" Sasuke asked.

"First," Haku started. "I have blocked one of your hands, and second, we are almost surrounded by water." Haku said the second one with annoyance laced in his voice. "Of course if your friend over there didn't use her jutsu then we would be completely surrounded, but we'll be fine like this." Haku finished. "You only have a single free hand you can use to defend yourself." Haku began creating hand signs with a single hand. "Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles Of Death."

" _I've seen one handed hand signs before. The Sayumi clan was famous for being able to do them so easily. Or at least that's what Uncle told me._ " Neko thought to herself. Haku stomped his foot and a bunch of smoke covered the area. The smoke suddenly turned into needles. The needles flew towards Sasuke. Haku jumped away and Sasuke jumped as well and attacked Haku. Sasuke ran behind Haku.

"You're not as fast as you say you are. From this point on you'll be defending my attacks." Sasuke said arrogantly. They both charged again and Haku's senbon hit Sasuke's kunai. Sasuke used his other hand and threw another kunai at Haku causing Haku to dodge and Sasuke kicked Haku, sending the boy flying. Haku landed in front of Zabuza, who stared in shock.

"You made a big mistake insulting these ninja and calling them brats. That's just guaranteed to bring out Sasuke's attitude." Kakashi began.

"What do you mean. Sasuke always has an attitude." Neko mumbled, though she was ignored.

"He's the best rookie of the hidden leaf village. Sakura here is our sharpest mind. Neko is the fastest out of all the rookies even if she is slow to catch on to some things, and lastly our number one, knuckle headed, hyper-active ninja, Naruto Uzumaki." Kakashi finished.

"Haku get on with it." Zabuza commanded. Haku nodded.

"Right, I'm sorry it's come to this." Haku made some hand signs and ice mirrors began to form around Sasuke. "Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors." Haku walked to a mirror and melted into it. Each mirror showed Haku's reflection. Kakashi growled and tried to run over.

"If you enter this fight, you fight me. The boy has no chance against that jutsu, he's finished" Zabuza said.

"Neko!" Kakashi shouted.

"Right." Neko replied, and before Zabuza could stop her Neko appeared at the side of the mirror. "How can we destroy this." She mumbled as Haku began sending a barrage of needles at her raven haired teammate. Neko ran in the circle and did some hand signs. "Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance!" She shouted redirecting the needles in Haku's hand before they hit their target, while stirring up dust. Haku stuck his upper body out of the mirror to get a closer look as the dust faded away, but a shuriken flew and hit his body making him fall out of the mirror.

"Number one, hyper-active, knucklehead ninja." Haku said as he stood up. Naruto suddenly appeared.

"You know how in stories the heroes usually show up at the last minute and kicks butt? Well that's what I'm gonna do. Believe it!" Naruto shouted with a smile. Neko noticed that Naruto's random appearance distracted everyone and she took that time to run over to Sasuke.

"You okay?" She asked seriously. There weren't any needles on him because she blocked them. He gave her a nod and she returned it. "Dang. How do we get past these." She mumbled.

"Now that I'm here, everything will be alright!" Naruto claimed with grin. Sakura shouted his name in glee, and Tazuna grunted in shock.

"This brat again." Zabuza growled.

"Alright, you're history! Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto shouted. Zabuza launched kunai at Naruto stopping his jutsu, but Haku blocked the four kunai with four senbon.

"This is a battle not a talent show, don't let the opponent see your jutsu!" Kakashi said sternly.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to rescue everybody." Naruto complained putting his hands against his head.

"Haku what are you doing?" Zabuza demanded. Haku stood up, back facing Zabuza.

"This boy. Zabuza, let me fight this boy my own way." Haku requested. "Please."

"Bring it on." Naruto growled.

"So you want me to leave this to you? Is that it Haku? As usual you're too soft." Zabuza stated making Neko furrow her eyebrows.

" _Too soft? I don't see how this guy is soft."_

" **You probably would have if you didn't block his attack."** Nikita suggested.

"Sorry." Haku apologized.

"I'm warning you, one way or another I'm gonna rip off that mask and take you apart." Naruto growled pointing towards Haku. "That mask and your bogus story. You were with Zabuza all along, do you really think you could get away with that."

"I'm sorry." Haku said. Neko turned around ignoring them, walking up to a mirror.

" _Have you seen this before Nikita?"_

" **No kit. Never in my life. But these mirrors are made of ice, so wouldn't fire melt it."**

" _I don't think I could get enough fire."_ Neko replied touching the mirror. " _It feels so hard, and so cold. If I tried to use your chakra to use a jutsu big enough to melt the ice then I would draw too much attention me. Then Haku would be able to counter it, or possibly attack me and make me stop performing it."_

" **Kit when you say it like that it sounds complicated. Why can't you just say big fire plus ice mirror equals trouble."** Neko inwardly sighed.

" _But how can I break this jutsu?"_ Neko growled in her head. It was all so complicated. Haku was fast, but Neko was going to prove she was faster. " _Speed has always been my specialty."_ Suddenly an image of Haku appeared in the mirror she was touching and grabbed her arm. She sent a punch at the arm out of the mirror. Haku let her go and she backflipped to the middle of the ring. Suddenly a barrage of needles flew towards her and Sasuke and Neko quickly did some handsigns.

"Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance!" She shouted pushing the needles away again. Haku smirked behind his mask.

"Do you really think that would work on me again?" He asked as another barrage of needles came towards them. Neko smirked, facing them. She flings her hand out in front of her and another burst of wind blows away the senbon.

"You need to attack from the outside and inside at the same time." Kakashi shouted. Something clicked in Neko's mind and she started doing a bunch of handsigns. Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger.

" _Sasuke can cause a distraction while both Naruto and I attack the mirrors. And I have just the jutsu to do it."_

"Hey, I snuck in here to save you two." Naruto said cheekily. "Pretty cool move, eh guys?"

"Naruto, you sneak up on your enemy not your ally." Kakashi sighed.

"Naruto you idiot! I had everything planned out!" Neko shouted.

"You're a complete loser!" Sasuke told him. "Think before you do something. You are a shinobi!"

"What the heck is your problem. You should thank me for helping you two!" Naruto countered.

"If all three of us are in here- ugh I have had it with your mistakes Naruto." Sasuke growled.

"I've had it with your attitude. Believe it!"

"Naruto, Sasuke, it's fine. I'll think of something just give me a minute." Neko said calmly. Sasuke stood up and did some handsigns, and Neko stood, her back against his.

"Fire style," Sasuke said.

"What attack are you using." Naruto asked.

"Naruto, these mirrors are made of ice. Fire plus ice equals no more ice." Neko explained trying her hardest not to laugh at her dumbed down explanation.

"Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet Jutsu!" Neko yelled, fire shot from both kids. On Sasuke's side nothing melted, but on Neko's side a mirror was nearly melted to the ground, but when her fire faded away the mirror reformed. Neko began panting from using so many jutsu. A senbon came from her side and she knocked it away with a kunai, just before it could hit her arm.

"That didn't do anything at all." Naruto growled.

"You'll need more heat than that to melt this ice." Haku stated and pulled out senbon needles. Neko jumped in front of the two boys and did some hand signs just as Haku threw the needles.

"Water, Wind Combo: Square Shield Jutsu." She mumbled putting her hands into the air. Water quickly floated in the air and formed a square shield around them, while the air held it up. The needles bounced off the water and onto the ground.

"I've never heard of that jutsu." Haku informed making her smirk.

"Good, because it's an original jutsu I made myself." Neko stated. Naruto created a bunch of shadow clones, and each of them ran towards on mirror. Neko reluctantly activated her Tassei Hitomi to get a better look at Haku. After finding the kekkei genkai not useful she deactivated it and watched as each Naruto clone disappeared and the real Naruto landed right in front of her and next to Sasuke.

"These mirrors allow me to reflect my image allowing me to transport at light speed. Through my eyes you appear to be moving in slow motion." Haku said.

"It's a bloodline trait. Like my Sharingan, you can't learn it. It has to be in your genetic code, passed down in a single clan." Kakashi said. "There's no way to destroy it and no way to stop it."

" _So that means the only way to defeat Haku is to get him out of his mirrors."_

"I couldn't break through. So what? That's not gonna stop me. I am not gonna give up or lose here. Because I have a dream and I'm not letting anyone take it away from me. Someday I will be respected in my village. That's my dream. To be the greatest Hokage!" Naruto shouted at Haku.

"Dreams." Haku mumbled. "It was not my desire to be a shinobi. It's painful. I do not want to kill you but if you advance, then I will have no choice. Then I will kill off the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the shinobi way. There will be no mercy, no holding back. This bridge will be the battle field where our dreams collide, and I must fight for my dream. Just as you will fight for your own. Please do not blame me. I fight for someone who is very precious to me. I live for him, and I'll even face death for him. Just so his dream can become a reality. That is my dream. And for the sake of my dream, I will act if I must, and I will act like a shinobi and take your lives." Haku said pulling out senbon. Neko did some hand signs preparing for a defense jutsu. Naruto tried the shadow clone again and Haku sent some more needles at Neko and Sasuke which Neko blew away. Neko looked at Sasuke and he nodded.

" _He saw it too. Good. I've got an idea."_ Neko looked over to Naruto. Naruto tried once more and Sasuke kicked up some water. " _So when Naruto uses his shadow clones Haku jumps from mirror to mirror. If we can catch Haku in the middle of his jumps then we will be able to attack."_ Neko thought. She began doing hand signs again. Blocking the attacks thrown towards Naruto and Sasuke.

" **Hold on a second kit. Each time he attacks you redirect his attack with your attack. But if he threw the needle are you sure you would be able to avoid it?"**

" _I'm pretty sure. What's the difference between throwing a needle when you can run up to someone and stab them with the same speed. We know how fast he goes, and if I used your chakra I would almost be able to match it."_ Neko put her hands up to begin another sequence of hand signs, but cried out when a senbon needle impaled itself into the back of both arms making them go numb. She made a small cry causing both of her male teammates to look at her.

"There goes our defense." Neko muttered bitterly, not able to move either arm. "I can't do any more jutsu."

" _I'm just going to be a burden."_ Both Naruto and Sasuke were shocked at the fact that Haku got her. " _Dang."_

"Now that both of your arms are down, you won't be able to counter my attacks." Haku told her.

"Guys, Naruto keep doing shadow clones, and Sasuke, try to catch Haku in your fire ball jutsu. That should get him until I think of a better plan." Neko said. Naruto and Sasuke nodded and began working. Sasuke's second fireball burned a part of the bottom of Haku's clothing. Naruto fell on the ground landing in front of Neko again. "Naruto come here." Neko mumbled and Naruto walked up to her. Neko put her foot on his foot and began transferring her chakra to him. "That should keep you going." Naruto nodded a thanks. "Naruto keep going, my chakra should be enough for you to use your shadow clone jutsu some more." Neko commanded.

"Naruto, run for it and attack from the outside." Sasuke said.

"Alright!" Naruto said before running towards the exit.

"You cannot escape." Haku said going after Naruto. Sasuke launched his fire ball jutsu towards Haku and Haku narrowly dodged, launching a senbon at Sasuke and landing in front of Naruto. Haku kicked Naruto forward, and Neko ran in front of Sasuke and took the hit of the needle. Neko looked back at him hiding her pained face.

"I can't do any jutsu, so in here I'm basically useless." She told him. As much as she tried, she could not move her arms. They refused to budge. "Once more guys. You almost had him." Neko encouraged.

"Yeah, let's do it." Naruto agreed. Both boys ran in a different direction while Neko watched for the real Haku.

"No more games, this time you'll stay down." Haku growled. He threw a senbon at Sasuke hitting his leg and Sasuke grunted. Both him and Naruto cried out in pain when Needles hit them. Neko held back her cries by biting her lip as the needles launched themselves into her body. A loud scream coming from Sakura was heard and Neko flinched.

"Sakura's in trouble." Naruto groaned in pain and he slowly stood up. "I'll bust us out of here. I'll fake him out." Naruto then concentrated his chakra and began running. Haku followed.

"Behind you Naruto!" Neko shouted. Naruto turned around and a bunch of needles were sent at him. "Dang, here my wind jutsu would come in handy." She mumbled, slowly gaining feeling back into her arms.

"Your chance of escaping my house of mirrors is zero. That is absolute." Sasuke and Neko approached Naruto.

"Are you going to be able to stand back up?" Sasuke asked him. Naruto groaned in pain as he attempted to lift himself. "Don't use anymore chakra, that's only helping him now."

"If we wanna beat him, then we're gonna have to find a way to juke him." Neko mumbled. "But it's all so complicated. With every new thing he does." Sasuke stood up and faced the mirror.

"My eyes have adjusted to his movements." Sasuke mumbled. Haku launched some senbon at Sasuke but Sasuke grabbed a senbon and deflected them all. "Get up loser, we've gotta team up." Sasuke told Naruto. Neko slowly began moving her arms, gaining control of them.

"Hey Emo Duck, I've got my arms back." Neko told him, Sasuke nodded. Naruto slowly got up.

"I know what we have to do, believe it Sasuke." Naruto claimed. Haku begun launching multiple needles at them and Sasuke blocked the needles headed toward himself. Neko only had enough chakra to protect herself, because she gave most of her's to Naruto. She did small wind jutsus.

"He disappeared." Sasuke exclaimed when Haku's image suddenly went away. "Naruto you better not pass out."

"Dang it." Neko mumbled.

"Don't protect me, I never asked for your help." Naruto rasped before falling back. Haku laughed from above them.

"You can't revive him, he's reached his limits. Your attacks are skillful, but you reached your limits as well." Haku chuckles darkly and throws senbon separating Neko and Sasuke.

"Don't count me out just yet." Neko growled doing some handsigns out of anger. "Fire Style: Flaming Cat Claw!" She shouted as a massive cat paw formed and began to hit the mirrors. The paw eventually faded and Neko fell to her knees gasping.

"You are too weak to melt the ice. Now you're finished." Haku began appearing in different mirrors. He launched a senbon at the spot Naruto was in and Sasuke ran up and carried Naruto away before putting him back down on the ground, avoiding the senbon. Sasuke looked up to show his Sharingan.

"You did it." Neko gasped. The look of thought on her face signalled the gears turning inside her head as she conjured up a plan. Haku held up three more senbon needles and appeared in different mirrors. Haku surprised both Neko and Sasuke by charging towards Naruto.

" _Nikita? Would you be o-"_

" **Go ahead kit."** Sasuke runs in front of Naruto to block the attack, but is surprised when a figure suddenly appears in front of him. Neko let out a cry of pain as she took the hit, and looked back to meet Sasuke's Sharingan eyes. He was shocked when he saw her Tassei Hitomi activated. He teleported in front of her. Sasuke caught Neko as she fell onto him, making him sit on the ground, her in his lap. Naruto began to turn over. He saw Haku's fallen form, and Sasuke sitting beside him, Neko in his lap.

"Neko." He mumbled. She turned her head slowly and smiled.

"I thought of a plan." She said, her normal friendly, calm tone leaving her voice. Her voice sounded ghostly. "This guy isn't done yet." Naruto's hope of Haku being beat disappeared when he saw the needles in his best friend's body. "Naruto, you'll have to create shadow clones, if you can try to make two for each mirror. Concentrate chakra into your feet and run up the mirrors. That should distract Haku enough for Sasuke to either attack Haku or run on the outside of the mirrors and both of you can attack at once and destroy them. It's the only way. Naruto, promise me you won't lose control. If you let your anger get the best of you, your fighting will get sloppy and you won't be able to win. If you can control you anger you can control _it_." Neko's body became pale, making the freckles over her face, arms, and legs stand out. Neko looked up to Sasuke's face and her smile grew. "Sasuke, you should see the look on your face. I've never seen you this way." Naruto looked down at Neko and growled.

"Why? I didn't ask for you to protect me so why?" He asked. Neko let out a weak and painful laugh.

"Sorry Naruto but it's in the contract. Once you become my friend, I'd do anything to protect you. It's my job as your best friend." She looked back up to Sasuke. "You too. Even if you don't want to be friends, I could care less. I think of you as a friend."

"What about Nik-" Naruto began.

"We've come to an agreement. This was the only way I could save you." Neko explained. "Naruto, promise me… Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll achieve your dream and become the greatest hokage. You'll earn respect from everyone in the village, believe it?" Neko softly asked. Naruto held back his tears and softly smiled.

"Believe it." He confirmed.

"And Sasuke. Promise me that you'll look over Naruto and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Unless it's with you, because I'm all for SasuNaru." Neko said chuckling. Sasuke held back his smile.

"If you weren't in this condition I'd hit you." He muttered. Neko smiled and sighed.

"Both of you were like big brothers to me. I always thought both of you were strong and I wanted to be able to catch up to you." Neko admitted and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"And you were the annoying little sister." He muttered.

"But, but Neko. What about your dream? If you're not there, then who will be there to achieve it?" Naruto asked sadly. Neko looked at him in the eyes.

 _~FlashBack~_

" _My dream is to prove to everybody that girls can do anything boys can. Gender doesn't matter."_

 _~FlashBack End~_

"My dream is a dream any girl can fulfill. As long as they have the guts. Ino, Sakura, Hinata, any girl can do it. Not just me. But I-I have de-decided to change my d-dream. M-my new dream… My n-new d-dream is… i-is to kn-know th-that all my friends and c-comrades will be safe. A-and n-now t-that I kn-know m-my b-best f-friends are okay, I'll be f-fine now too. S-sasuke, Naruto. D-don't let a-anyone t-tell you t-that you c-can't d-do something. And if they do, then prove them wrong." The tears in Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes fell. "Never forget your dreams. And stick to the plan. Please. For me?" Neko asked weakly, her body went limp in Sasuke's arms and a single tear fell down her face.

"No," Naruto whispered. "NO!" He shouted.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

"NIKITA!" Neko shouted as she ran in between the big iron bars of the cage, keeping the tailed beast inside of her. "I'm so sorry." She cried into Nikita's soft, orange fur. Nikita purred and began licking Neko's a face. A motherly cat habit. "I'm sorry Nikita. I'm sorry." Neko continuously said. "Maybe if I was stronger-"

"Kit. It's already been done. But do you know why you're here?" Nikita asked Neko, whose face was buried in her fur.

"No." Neko replied still sobbing and Nikita rolled her eyes.

"You're not dead." Neko froze. "You're near death. Which means you still have a chance. 'Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting back up every time we fall.'" Neko took in Nikita's words and smiled.

"I thought I failed you because I wasn't strong enough to stay alive." Neko admitted. Nikita sighed rubbing her big head against Neko's.

"Failure is apart of life. You have not failed me. Even if you die I will die knowing I was proud that my host was strong enough to protect the ones she loved even if it meant giving her life." Nikita said. Neko smiled and laid down against Nikita's stomach.

"You're giant, you know that?" Neko asked with a giggle. Nikita rolled her eyes and huffed. Nikita suddenly jumped up when she felt a familiar chakra rise and then suddenly lower. "What is it?" Neko asked concern noticeable in her eyes and voice.

"It's Kyuubi. A large amount of his chakra was released then suppressed." Neko sighed in relief.

"Good, Naruto must've gotten control. What's with you and Kyuubi anyway. Is there a relationship going on that I don't know about?" Neko asked making Nikita gasp.

"NO!" Nikita quickly answered. "I would never fall in love with someone as selfish, arrogant, rude, snobby, independant, or stupid as that fox. He could put himself in danger and I would just watch and laugh." Nikita growled making Neko drop the subject.

"Tell me, do you know how long I'll be here? Not that I want to leave or anything!" Neko quickly added making Nikita roll her eyes.

"As long as it takes your body to heal itself, which shouldn't be too much longer." Neko nodded and put her face in the beast's fur.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Team seven, and Tazuna stood in front of Neko's body sadly. The villagers too busy celebrating to even notice the girl. All was silent until they heard a groan, and Neko turned over to her side, in a sleeping position. Kakashi sweat dropped. Sakura walked over and tugged Neko's side a little to try and get her to wake up.

"Five more minutes." Neko mumbled as she unconsciously grabbed Sakura's arm and launched her across the bridge. Naruto gasps and looks at Neko again but a smile covered his features.

"Neko!" He shouted and pounced on her waking her up instantly.

"HEY!" She shouted. "Can't a girl take a nap!" Naruto grinned and hugged her tighter. "Lemme go, I'm tired." She groaned sleepily. Kakashi chuckled as Sakura marched back over. Sakura walked over and punched Neko in the head.

"That was for making me worry so much!" Sakura yelled and punched her a second time. "And that was for flinging me across the bridge!" Neko looked confused.

"I did that?" She asked as she yawned making everyone sweatdrop.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Everyone sat happily at the dinner table eating. Team seven planned to leave in the morning.

"So you guys never told me what happened. How did you defeat Haku?" She asked Naruto who grinned big.

"Well everything went according to the plan. We did exactly what you told us to do and we beat him." Neko looked over to Sasuke and he nodded in confirmation making her smile.

"My plans always work." She said grinning evilly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and ate some spaghetti off his fork the same time Naruto did. Neko stood up smiling innocently at Kakashi who was eyeing her suspiciously. Sasuke and Naruto both began sucking a long piece of spaghetti and they both ended up facing each other, the piece of spaghetti connecting them. Neko grinned and put her hands on the back of their heads pushing them into each other making them kiss.

"SASUNARU FOR LIFE!" Neko shouted as she turned around and ran outside.

"YOUR LIFE ISN'T GONNA BE VERY LONG IF I CATCH YOU!" Sasuke shouted chasing her.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

"We couldn't have finished the bridge without you." Tazuna said.

"Be careful." Tsunami added.

"Now, now, don't get all choked up." Naruto said. "We'll come and visit soon."

"You swear you will?" Inari asked holding back tears. Tears formed in Naruto's eyes as well.

"Of course. You know Inari it's alright to cry. There's nothing wrong with that, go for it." Naruto said in a shaky voice.

"Who says I wanna cry? Why don't you go on and i cry, if there's nothing wrong with it." Inari countered.

"Nope! You first!" Naruto claimed. After a five second long staring contest both boys turned around and began crying.

"Boys, am I right?" Neko muttered earning a nod of approval from Sakura. Neko sighed listening to her team bicker. They haven't even gotten off of the bridge yet!

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

 **A/N** **: Finally! I have wanted to end the land of wave part for so long. Don't get me wrong, I love this part, I truly do, but it just gets difficult to write after a while. I have been wanting to start the chunin exams for a long time now. And don't worry, I'm planning to make the chunin exams funnier than the Land of Waves part. I tried adding comedy to the land of waves, but it wasn't that easy because most of the main characters are so serious in this part. But do not fear, Kitty-chan will save the day! Thanks for reading. O(^^)O**


	6. The Chunin Exams Begin!

**Kittyluver: I do not own Naruto…**

 **Naruto: Good because who knows what would happen if you did**

 **Sakura: For once you're right Naruto,**

 **Kittyluver: What? I'm not that bad! I mean I wouldn't change the show that much. Just you know make Naruto a girl…**

 **Kakashi: And this is why we don't let idiots around.**

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

"So what are we doing?" Neko asked as she yawned. Sakura rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe you would know if you paid attention!" She snapped.

"I did pay attention. Didn't you see the butterfly?" Neko responded tiredly. Naruto walked to her side and pulled her away as Sakura grew angry.

"We're supposed to go pull out some lady's weeds, pull garbage from a river or something, and…and…"

"And go walk some dogs." Sasuke finished making Naruto growl. Neko rolled her eyes and jumped in the air, she began walking on her hands.

"As much as I ship it, I know it will never happen, but I love to get on your nerves." She mumbled.

"We're here." Kakashi stated. Neko groaned before flipping onto her feet.

" _This is gonna be a long day."_

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Neko groaned as her team started arguing.

"Can you guys shut up." She said but I was ignored. Naruto continued to yell at Sasuke and Sasuke just stood there patronizing Naruto. She smirked and walked in the middle of them. "If you guys don't stop arguing right now, I'll everyone that you two kissed again. And I might make up some stuff about you two." They froze. Naruto growled at Neko.

"Seriously Neko! What makes you think I would like this teme!" Naruto yelled.

"And what makes you think I would like this dobe." Sasuke added.

"Nothing actually. I know you hate each other's guts, but you know. It's just something to annoy you two. I mean, we all know Sasuke has a bunch of fangirls he can choose to marry. And Naruto has Hi- oh look a butterfly!" Neko exclaimed pointing towards the creature. On instinct she followed it around, leaving team seven confused.

"Hn, whatever. I'm leaving." Sasuke said turning around.

"Sasuke! Do you think maybe we could- I don't know do something more personal to improve our teamwork." Sakura asked.

"Instead of flirting go practice jutsu and make yourself stronger. You're worse than Naruto." Sasuke told her before leaving.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Neko walked through Konoha having lost the butterfly she found. Shaking her head she walked to the training fields, but she stopped when she heard a cry.

"Let go!" A familiar voice said. Neko sprinted towards the source of it. In a flash she stood a couple feet in front of Naruto, Sakura, Moegi, and Udon, only to see a weird looking guy holding up Konohamaru by his scarf and a girl with blonde hair behind him. The guy and girl looked at her in shock.

"I suggest you put my friend down before I make you." Neko threatened with her hands on her hips. The guy grinned and turned to face her.

"It's Naruto's girlfriend!" Konohamaru shouted.

" _WE ARE NOT DATING IDIOT!"_ Neko shouted in her mind.

"We're not dating!" Naruto growled.

"Ha! I'd like to see you try. There's no way a short runt like you could take me down." He boasted. Sakura, Naruto, Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru froze.

"Oh no." Both Sakura and Moegi said together.

"Did I hear you correctly?" Neko asked sweetly, her head tilted to the side and her hands clenching into fists behind her back. Kankuro grinned.

"I said that a midget like you won't be able to take me down." He said proudly, like he had done something good, but he only signed his own death warrant.

"He just made the biggest mistake of his life." Naruto said out loud causing the blonde haired girl, behind her partner, to raise an eyebrow. Neko put her fists to her side and looked up at the puppet master before growling.

"First you mess with my friends, that's strike one. Second you call me short, that's strike two, and third you call me a midget. Strike three you're out." She snarled. Her Tassei Hitomi activated for a single second, and she disappeared only to reappear where Kankuro was previously standing holding him against the wall. Konohamaru was safely placed beside Naruto, and the side of Kankuro's face was pushed against the wall while Neko held his arms behind his back. "Look here puppet master, I don't know who you are, and I don't care. But no one messes with my friends, or calls me short while I'm around. Now either you can walk away from this mess, or I'll give you a free one way ticket for airmail express all the way back to Suna." Neko said darkly.

"How'd you kn-" He started.

"The headbands. I'm not as dumb as I look." Neko interrupted. "Now which one do you cho- OW!" Neko released Kankuro to look up at Sasuke who threw a rock at her head. "EMO DUCK WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"Leave him alone, he isn't worth wasting your time for." Sasuke said blankly.

"Since when did you become my father and choose what I do and don't do?" Neko asked. Kankuro growled and swung a punch at her, but she swiftly dodged it without looking back at him. She appeared beside Naruto who watched Sakura, Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru basically praise Sasuke for being there.

"Let it go Neko. We didn't come here to start fights." Neko pondered this for a moment before smirking, and mock bowing.

"Oh yes 'oh great lord of hairstyles', teach me the way of the duck butt. Let's not waste our time here with these pests, who do not appreciate the power of the duck butt hair. They do not deserve to learn the ways of master duck." Naruto began laughing along with Konohamaru. Sasuke growled jumping down beside Neko. Kankuro stormed over to them grabbing Neko by the collar of her shirt. Neko kept her arms crossed, and didn't even bother defending herself.

"You think you-"

"Kankuro stop." A raspy voice said. Fear struck Kankuro's face and he dropped Neko and slowly turned around.

"G-gaara?" He said frightened.

" _That girl, she easily stopped Kankuro from hurting her friends, and that boy easily stopped her from hurting Kankuro. He didn't even have to use force. He just told her to stop and she did. They must be powerful."_ Gaara thought to himself.

"Look Gaara they started it. It went like-"

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara said, using his sand to teleport by Kankuro. "I'm sorry for the trouble he has caused." He said in anything but an apologetic tone.

"Hey, why are you wearing I giant peanut on your back?" Neko asked snickering.

"It does look like a peanut." Naruto added. Neko nodded and Gaara just ignored them. They turned around to leave, but stopped when Sakura decided to do something stupid.

"Wait! Your headbands say you're not from the Hidden Leaf Village! And ninja aren't allowed to go into other villages without permission. So state your purpose and it better be good." Sakura commanded. Neko burst out into laughter.

"And I thought Naruto was the stupid one. Sakura we need to work on your people skills, and you need to learn when to ask things and when to keep your mouth shut. It's obvious they're here for the chunin exams." Neko explained.

"Chunin exams. Uh huh I don't know what they are, believe it!" Naruto said.

"I believe it, you're totally clueless." Temari said causing Neko to chuckle. Then she sighed.

"Do I have to explain everything here. Chunin exams are the exams that Genin take to become chunin." Sasuke rolled his eyes and the sand ninja began walking off again, until Sasuke stopped them.

"Wait! Identify yourselves!" He shouted.

"Me?" Temari asked with a blush.

"No, the guy with the gourd." Sasuke replied. Neko threw her arms into the air and held back a laugh.

"REJECTED! YOU JUST GOT REJECTED GIRL!" Sakura smirked while Naruto covered up his laugh with a cough. "Anyways, am I the only one here who pays attention. His name his Gaara. Back when puppet boy was cowering he called the guy Gaara. Idiots, I'm surrounded by idiots." She complained. Gaara turned back to the group.

"Yes the girl is right. But I'm also interested in your name." Gaara said. Sasuke smirked.

"Sasuke Uchiha." He stated.

"And the girl?" Gaara said pointing to Neko who was mocking Sasuke.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm perfect. I'm the strongest. Everyone loves me. But I only love one person. And it's Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke and Naruto both hit Neko in the back of the head making her fall on her face. "OWWW GUYS THAT REALLY HURT!" She shouted.

"You." Gaara caught her attention. "What's your name?" He asked. Neko flipped him off and stuck out her tongue before standing up.

"Very mature Neko." Sakura whispered sarcastically shaking her head.

"What? I was being civilized. It's that what mature people do when they meet each other?" Neko asked innocently. Sakura nodded and Neko dead panned. "Oh, I'm going to train, Sakura, keep an eye on Sasuke and Naruto. Make sure they don't do anything bad, wait. Never mind let it happen but tell me first thing. And if the kiss aga- OWWIIIEEE! ALRIGHT I'M SORRY!" Neko shouted. In an instant she disappeared.

"When she gets back I'm gonna-" Naruto murmured.

"Neko Sayumi." Sasuke stated. "That's her name." Sakura shook her head to herself.

"As much as I support her ship, it's never gonna sail." Sakura said aloud. Suddenly a current of wind blew the pink haired girl's way, and a kunai was pointed against her neck.

"What was that?" Neko's angry voice growled. Temari and Kankuro both widened their eyes at Neko's speed. Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed Neko by the ear and began dragging her away.

"Sakura's right. Your ship won't sail." He said and Neko moved her position to where she sat with her legs crossed, as well as her arms, and her cheeks puffed out. Sasuke continued to drag her away as she pouted.

"You're just in denial Sasuke." Neko muttered.

"Neko stop. You're acting like such a little kid." Sakura said. Neko stuck her tongue out before standing up.

"Yes Sakura, I shall listen to you now because you somehow became my mother." She turned to the sand siblings. "Bye blondie, puppet master, and boy I haven't come up with a nickname for yet." She said before grabbing Naruto's arm and dragging him away. "Let's go get some ramen Naruto." Naruto happily followed.

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Neko yawned as she walked onto the bridge hearing Sakura and Naruto shout complaints towards Kakashi. Once she stepped onto the bridge both of them turned to her and screamed.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Neko yawned again ignoring them and sat down on the rail.

" **Don't touch the water! Don't touch it!"** Nikita screamed in her mind making Neko roll her eyes. A sudden poof of smoke caught her attention as her sensei appeared on the taller rail. She yawned again and turned to face the group as Kakashi jumped down.

"I'm afraid I got lost on the path of life." He said casually.

"If you got lost on the path of life wouldn't you be dead? Nevermind. You need better excuses." Neko said tiredly. Kakashi gave her a closed eye smile.

"What's your excuse?" He asked and she smiled.

"I was sleeping." Neko stated bluntly. Everyone sweatdropped.

"I recommended you four for the chunin exams. Here are the applications." Kakashi said holding out four slips of paper. "This is all voluntary. It's up to each of you, so if you don't feel like you're ready, you can wait until next year."

"Kakashi sensei you rock!" Naruto said grabbing Kakashi in a hug.

"Don't slobber on my vest." Kakashi replied pulling Naruto off of him. "Whoever wants to take the exams come to room 301 in the academy, it's at 3pm five days from now." Kakashi said before leaving. Neko yawned again and jumped off the rail. The group began walking off. Naruto began giggling and Neko rolled her eyes. Sakura stopped walking and looked to the ground sadly. Neko saw this and put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

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Neko walked through the village looking for Naruto.

" _When you don't need him, he's there, but when you do he's gone. It's so frustrating."_ Neko growled to herself. She turned the corner and spotted a rain ninja watching her from ahead. Neko instantly turned around to avoid him. She started walking the way she came from. Neko spared a glance at an alleyway as she passed it and saw the same rain ninja from before.

" _What does that guy want?"_ Neko thought as she started running through the village. " _If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he's gonna get."_ She began running deeper into the village, where there was a bunch of people. But she stopped running when she saw Sakura walking off with Sasuke. " _Something's up. Unless Sasuke's had some change of heart."_ Neko shook her head and slowed down. She began walking around the block. As she turned the corner she bumped into someone and fell to the ground. Looking up she saw the three sand ninja from before, and she noticed she bumped into Gaara.

"Sorry." She muttered standing up. Kankuro was about to say something until she stopped him. "I don't have time for your stupidity right now." He gaped at her in rage as she turned her head and looked behind her. Seeing the rain ninja slowly walking towards her she let a string of curse words fly out of her mouth. "Stupid rain ninja, leave me alone and stop following me." She finished before disappearing in a flash. Gaara only saw a blur of red as she ran.

" _She's fast."_ He thought to himself. Once she reached an empty part of town she found herself pushed against a building a kunai to her neck.

"You're fast. It took me awhile to catch you." The ninja said causing Neko to scowl.

"Obviously not fast enough." She muttered. "What do you want?"

"Ha, I wa-" The guy was kicked away and Neko smirked as the she stood next to her clone.

"Looks like I won't find out." She said sweetly before doing some hand signs. "Water Release: Water Shuriken," She sighed and walked away as a barrage of water shuriken is launched at the ninja. "Kill ya later." She said before disappearing.

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Neko approached the academy and saw Sasuke, and Naruto waiting.

"Hey guys." She said mid yawn. Sakura came up behind her and greeted everyone as well. The group of four entered the academy. They entered the hallway and saw two people blocking the door.

"-delicate little girls don't belong here." Neko heard a man say and she stormed up to him.

"Leave her alone you sexist idiot. You can't judge her just because she's a girl. Now let me through." Neko growled, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura behind her.

"Heh, you really think a tiny little girl like you will survive in there?" Neko clenched her fists.

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATHWISH?" Naruto shouted. Neko almost charged up to the man but was held back by Sasuke.

"I'M NOT TINY, I'M PRETTY TALL FOR MY AGE!" Neko shouted. Sasuke growled and she calmed down. "Now let me and my group through. And reverse the genjutsu, it's too obvious." Neko said bitterly turning to Sasuke. "Why can't I beat him up?" She asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes and stepped in front of her.

"You noticed the genjutsu huh?" One asked.

"Tell them Sakura. You probably saw it before anyone else did. You have the sharpest eyes on our squad. You must have seen this coming a mile away." Sasuke said while Neko silently cursed the two standing in front of the door.

"Sure. I spotted this right away, it's only the second floor." Sakura said with a smirk. Naruto nodded.

"So you noticed an illusion. Now let's see you handle this." The spiky haired one growled. He sent a kick towards Sasuke and Sasuke sent one back at him to counter. Both kicks we stopped by a guy in a green spandex suit, with a bowl haircut and bushy eyebrows. Neko stomped towards Sasuke and growled.

"You hypocrite! You said I couldn't beat him up but then you tried to!" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I never said that." Neko looked shocked before smirking evilly. She turned towards the guy but Sasuke smirked. "But you can't beat him up now." Neko turned towards him rage evident on her face.

"What happened to the plan. I thought you said to keep a low profile." A long brown haired boy said to the green spandex dude. The boy walked up to Sakura with a blush.

"My name is Rock Lee. You are Sakura, right?" He asked the pink haired girl. "Please be my girlfriend. I vow to protect you with my life." He said giving her a thumbs up.

"Definitely… not." Sakura rejected instantly turning Lee's mood down.

"Why?" Lee asked.

"Because you're a weirdo." She said. Naruto began laughing at his rejection. The brown haired boy and girl with two buns walked over to them.

"Hey you, what's your name." He asked Sasuke. Naruto growled.

"It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's." Sasuke said casually.

"Common courtesy my butt! You were all like 'identify yourself' to the sand ninja, and you didn't even give him your name till he gave you his." Neko exclaimed making Sasuke growl.

"You're rookies aren't you?" The brown haired boy asked. "How old are you any way?"

"I don't have to answer that." Sasuke said making the girl giggle. Neko groaned and banged her head against the wall.

"Not another Fan Girl!" She said in misery.

"Naruto, Neko, Sasuke. Let's go." Sakura said. Neko nodded and followed.

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"Hey you, with the attitude!" A familiar voice stopped them. The four looked back to see Lee standing up on the balcony above them. Neko looked over to her team to see that each member had a different reaction. Sakura shocked, Naruto seemed somewhat calm, and Sasuke seemed irritated.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

"I want to fight." Lee stated.

"You wanna fight me here and now huh?" Sasuke asked. Neko rolled her eyes.

"He basically just said that." She stated earning a small glare from Sasuke.

"Yes." Lee jumped down in front of them. "My name is Rock Lee, you said it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right? Sasuke Uchiha." Lee finished dramatically.

"Please Lee, I'm begging you don't say his name like that, it inflates his ego too much." Neko groaned and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You know me." Sasuke said ignoring Neko's whines.

"I challenge you. Everyone is talking about how great the Uchiha clan is. So I want to test and see if what they say is true. Also," Lee turned to Sakura. "Sakura, I love you." Sakura screamed shaking her head.

"THOSE EYE BROWS CAN'T BE REAL! Your hairstyle is horrible too. And those eyebrows are so bushy, you're such a weirdo!" She cried hugging herself.

"You are an angel." Lee said a blush on his cheeks. He put his hand up and sent a heart her way. She dodged. "That was a good move, but try and dodge this." Lee sent multiple hearts at Sakura and she dodged them all.

"I wonder what would happen if it was Sasuke blowing her the hearts." Neko mumbled shaking her head.

"Hey, keep your valentines to yourself, I was dodging for my life there!" Sakura shouted.

"Must you be so negative Sakura." Lee said. Neko saw Naruto start shaking with rage so she walked forward yawning.

"Well you losers do what you want but I'll go on up and wait for you." She stopped right beside Lee.

"I've heard about your speed." Lee whispered and Neko smirked. "I want to race you when the exams are finished." He stated boldly.

"Alright, but I might surprise you. I'm a lot faster than you think, heck I didn't eve know I was this fast." Neko replied in a whisper before jumping ahead. When she made it to the door she saw Kakashi waiting at the door.

"Hey Baka, what are you doing here?" She asked causing him to pull his face out of his book. He frowned a bit when he didn't see the others.

"Are you the only one who applied?" He asked.

"Nah, the others are caught up in a fight with a guy named Rock Lee. I just got bored and left." Neko explained.

"Oh." Kakashi said before burying his face in his book.

"Closet perv." Neko mumbled. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. After waiting for a while Neko began to grow tired and she slowly fell asleep. When she woke up her team was walking into the room and Kakashi ushered her to join. She yawned and followed. There was a lot of other ninja. Someone who caught her eye was Gaara of the Sand.

"Sasuke where have you been?" A voice asked making Neko flinch.

" _Kill me now_." She thought and Nikita just laughed at her misfortune.

"You have no idea how much I was hoping you would come here. I've missed those good looks you have." Sasuke glared at Ino who had her arms wrapped around his neck. Sakura growled at Ino.

"Back off porker he's mine!" Sakura pointed at Ino.

"Miss forehead-" Neko put her arms out.

"Now, now girls please. Let's be reasonable. Nobody can have Sasuke because Sasuke belongs to Naruto." Neko said, but before anyone else could say anything two more people walked up to them.

"It's you guys? I knew this was gonna be a drag, but I didn't know it was going to be this lame." Shikamaru said. Neko and Naruto faced Shikamaru and Choji.

"So all three stooges are here." Naruto said making Neko giggle.

"You mean the two stooges and their idiot girlfriend." Neko mumbled. Naruto gave her a fist bump.

"Hey you know what pipsqueak- ah forget it you're a waste of my time." Neko rolled her eyes and walked up to Shikamaru looking up at his face.

"I think that you were just too dumb to think of a comeback." She taunted.

"Says the girl who got the worst grades along with Naruto." He retorted.

"HEY! We both know I fell asleep during the tests and I didn't have enough time to answer." Neko replied, standing on her tiptoes to make herself look taller.

"Heh, you're always sleeping. It seems lik-"

"Well, well what do you know. Looks like the gang is back together again." Kiba said walking up to the group. Hinata looked at Naruto and blushed. Neko, now standing beside Shikamaru whispered in his ear.

"Okay, I know that we're both smart enough to at least notice the _huge_ crush Hinata has on Naruto. Am I right?" Shikamaru nodded and crossed his arms.

"Yeah. It's so obvious." He muttered.

"Here we all are, the nine rookies." Kiba said grinning. Neko marched right in front of him.

"You're forgetting someone." She growled. Kiba had an innocent look plastered on his face.

"Am I? Let's see. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino, and myself. Well I guess you're right. Sorry Akamaru, I didn't mean to forget you." Everyone began snickering.

"I'm talking about me you mutt!" Neko complained.

"Whiskers!"

"Dog breath."

"Four legs."

"Four legs."

"Copy Cat."

"Kiba, the animal shelter called. They want their dog back." Neko stated earning a growl from the boy.

"Really, well last I heard you're cat friends are in the cage. Were you should be." Kiba retorted, and Neko growled.

"Alright you two, you can kill each other later." Sakura said pulling Neko away from Kiba while Hinata tried to get Kiba to step back.

"Hey, you guys might wanna try keeping it down a little bit. I mean you're the ten rookies right? Just coming out of the academy. I wouldn't make a spectacle of yourself. This isn't a class field trip you know." A white haired guy with glasses said. Neko furrowed her eyebrows.

" _That voice. It's so familiar."_ She thought to herself.

"Who are you?" Ino asked in a scream.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, but really look around you. You've made an impression. See those rain village ninja. They're very touchy. All of them are. The exam makes them very tense. You can't help it. How could you know how things work you are just rookies." Kabuto said with his hands in his pockets. "You remind me of myself awhile back."

"Kabuto is it? This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" Sakura asked.

"No, this is my seventh." Kabuto said sheepishly.

"So what you are trying to say is you suck." Neko deadpanned.

"They're held twice a year so this is going to be my fourth year." Kabuto said.

"You must be an expert by now." Sakura stated.

"Sakura, didn't you just hear him say that he failed seven times. That doesn't scream expert to me, it screams sucky guy." Neko said.

"Maybe you can help us out!" Naruto said cheerfully, ignoring Neko's remark. "And give us the inside tips."

"Well seventh time's a charm. That's what they say."

"So the rumors about the exam being tough is true. Man I knew this was going to be a drag." Shikamaru complained.

"Shut up lazy pants!" Neko snapped "I just want to go take a nap!" Everyone sweatdropped.

"Don't give up hope yet. I can help you kids out a bit with my ninja info cards." Kabuto said pulling out a deck of cards.

"What are those?" Sakura asked.

"It's kinda hard to explain. These are cards that have been chakra encoded of what I have learned over the past four years." Kabuto explained kneeling down on the ground. "I've over two hundred of them. They appear blank, but when I use my chakra it reveals what's on the card." The card then poofed and showed a map.

"A map." Sakura said.

"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who've come to take the exams. What villages they come from, and how many from the village. Why do you think they come to take the exam together at the same time. It's the foster friendship between nations of course." Kabuto informed.

"There's another reason." Sasuke said.

"You see this way they can carefully regulate the number of shinobi in each village, that way they can maintain the balance of power."

"Big deal, what a drag." Shikamaru said.

"One nation could end up with more shinobi than another and they might try to attack them. Makes sense I suppose."

"Do your cards have any info on individual candidates?" Sasuke asked.

"It depends, someone special in mind?" Kabuto asked.

"Maybe." Sasuke replied.

"I can't promise that my data is fully updated. But I've got just about everyone, including you guys of course. Tell me anything you know about them. Anything at all." Kabuto said.

"Gaara of the Desert, and Rock Lee of the Leaf village while you're at it." Sasuke requested, *Cough*demanded*Cough*.

"That makes it easy, you already know their names." Kabuto said shuffling through his cards. He pulled out two single cards. "Here they are."

"Show me." Sasuke demanded.

"First is Rock Lee. He looks to be about a year older than you guys. He's done eleven C-rank missions, and twenty D-rank. His squad leader is Guy. Over the past twelve months his Taijutsu has improved but his other skills are shaky. Last year, as a genin, he got a lot of attention, but for some reason not to participate in the Chunin exams. This will be his first time, like you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga." Kabuto explained. "Now, Gaara of the desert. His mission experience is eight C-ranks, and one B-rank as a genin. I don't have much information on this guy. He's from another land originally. He survived every mission without getting a single scratch on him. There are a bunch of candidates this time around. Of course the hidden doud village is small, it sprang up recently and no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery." Kabuto put his cards.

"Do you really think it's gonna be harder this time?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yeah. Out of the four years I've been doing the exams I've never seen a group with this much potential. We've got our work cut out for us." Kabuto answered. Naruto growled and began shuddering.

"MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI! AND I'M GOING TO BEAT EVERYONE OF YOU! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto shouted. "I feel a lot better now." Naruto said putting his hands behind his head. All of the other genin were staring at him and the other rookies.

"Can you say that again a little louder, I didn't quite catch it." Kiba said.

"Moron, are you trying to get everyone to hate us." Shikamaru complained.

"Naruto you idiot. Did you have to go and say something like that. You obnoxious little-" She stopped strangling the boy when she noticed everyone staring at her and Naruto. "Oh hi everyone. Don't mind him, sometimes he says these spazzy things he doesn't really mean." Sakura said nervously. Neko walked over to her and pulled her hand down.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER. HE MEANT EVERYTHING HE SAID, AND WE'RE GONNA KICK YOUR BUTTS INTO NEXT YEAR!" Neko interrupted. Gaara watched Neko grin at Sakura who was about to pummel her.

" _That girl, she feels so familiar."_ He thought not referring to the other two times they saw each other.

"For once in your life think about what you're doing." Sakura ranted to both Neko and Naruto.

"Sound ninja three o'clock." Neko mumbled earning a confused look from Naruto. The sound ninja sent an attack at Kabuto, which he dodged. Only seconds after the attack was launched Kabuto's glasses broke and he fell to the ground.

"What's wrong Kabuto?" Sakura asked. "Are you okay?"

"Write this on your little card punk. Genin from the sound will be chunin when the exams are over." One said. Neko furrowed her eyebrows.

" _I thought Kabuto dodged the attack. The guy didn't even touch him so what's going on? They're from the sound village. That's it!"_

" **What kit? Did you figure it out?"** Nikita asked **.**

" _I think the attack had something to do with sound. It makes sense. The guy didn't touch Kabuto, and they're from the sound village."_ Neko answered still trying to figure out the attack. A puff of smoke got their attention.

"Alright you baby faced degenerates! Pipe down and listen up!" A stern voice said. "I'm Ibiki Morino your proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy."

"Sooooo scary." Neko mumbled to where only she could hear.

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 **A/N: This chapter took forever to write! It was like, I would write down one thing, then I would erase it and write down another. I have so much planned for the chunin exams, and I am going to try to upload the next chapter in maybe a week? Next Saturday or Sunday is when the next chapter will come out, so until then see ya next time. Thanks for reading!**


	7. The First Exam

**Kittyluver: Well here's another interesting chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I only own Neko and Nikita.**

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" _A written exam. Just our luck. I mean, Sasuke and Sakura will do fine. I'll be able to get through it. But Naruto. He's not going to do so well. Great."_ Neko thought sarcastically as she walked to her seat. She sat down and looked at the front of the room. Beside her was some other ninja she's never met, and on her other side was Gaara.

"Eyes front. I'm going to tell you the rules, and I will not answer any questions. So pay attention. Rule one, this written exam is conducted on a system of point reduction. You begin the test with a score of ten points. One point is taken away for each wrong answer. Rule two. Teams pass or fail based on the total score of all members." Gasps were heard throughout the building.

" _That doesn't sound so bad. Our team has four members so if one of us misses all ten then someone else can make it up."_ Neko thought to herself.

"Wait a second! You're saying we all get scored as a team!" Sakura shouted.

"Silence! I have my reasons. Rule three. The sentinels sitting around the room are here to watch for any signs of cheating. For every incident they spot they will deduct two points from the culprits score." Ibiki continued.

 __" _I didn't even think about cheating until he brought it up."_ Neko mumbled in her head.

"Their eyes are sharp. If you're caught five times you'll be dismissed before the tests can be scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here."

" _I think I'm catching on."_

" **And what gives you that idea. You're so oblivious I don't even believe you."**

" _Hey, shouldn't you have faith in me! I'm not that stupid!"_

" **Then what are you going to do."**

" _I'm going to cheat."_

" **Continue, please humor me."**

" _Well he never said anything about not cheating, he only said that the sentinels would be watching to see if we cheated. Then he said that if we got caught we didn't deserve to be here. That kind of adds up, doesn't it."_

" **I never expected there to be a day when the kit would figure something like that out."** Nikita murmured.

" _I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult."_

" **Think positive."** Nikita chuckled.

"If you want to be considered shinobi then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be. One last thing. If any candidate gets a zero and fails the test then the entire team fails." Neko hit her head on her desk. Naruto gulped in fear. "The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period. You'll have one hour total… BEGIN!" Everyone flipped their test paper over. Neko observed her's before yawning and leaning back in her chair.

"Hey, boy I haven't come up with a nickname for yet." Gaara looked at her. "Wake me up five minutes before the last question." Neko said.

"What about the exam?" Gaara asked.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan I'm just really tired. Besides, I'm not going to forget about showing you up. I can't have you look better than me." Neko giggled. Then she fell asleep.

 **-888888888888888888-**

Neko yawned and sat up.

"That was a good nap." She muttered looking at the clock. Four minutes till the final question. She glared at Gaara. "You were supposed to wake me up a minute ago." She whispered harshly.

"Whoops." He said not feeling sorry at all.

"Now I have to use the hard way." Neko complained quietly. Gaara furrowed his brows.

" **Kit what was the easy way?"**

" _There actually was no easy way, I'm just trying to sound cool"_ Neko thought sheepishly. Nikita rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Ibiki, I'm about to show all of yall proctors and sentinels up." Neko muttered loud enough for only her and the two people sitting beside her to hear. Gaara began watching with curiosity and the other ninja looked with confusion. Neko made a handsign under the table and disappeared for about three seconds before reappearing with two extra papers. One of the papers had no answers on it, and the other was filled with typed answers.

" _The answer sheet!"_ Gaara thought. Neko smirked and quickly wrote down the answers on both her sheet and the other one. When she moved her hand Gaara saw the name on the other person's paper. " _Naruto Uzumaki?"_ He questioned to himself.

" _Perfect, now we don't have to worry about Naruto. I can run his paper back to him, and I'll keep the answer sheet with me till the end of the test then I'll return it."_ Neko snickered writing a message on the paper. Naruto looked with confusion at his desk where his paper just disappeared. Suddenly it reappeared with the answers on it. At the bottom there was a small message.

 _Here ya go Naruto, figured I might as well help you out because you know, I'm awesome and all that. I'm sitting on the right a couple seats behind you. Good luck!_

 _~Neko~_

He plastered a big grin on his face. Neko yawned and put the answer sheet under her paper.

"See," She whispered to Gaara. "Told ya I'd show you up." She giggled. "Look, there's still time to spare."

"Alright! Listen up. Here's the tenth and final question." Ibiki shouted. "Before I give you the question I have more rules you need to know." Suddenly the door opened to reveal puppet master and another guy. "Ah made it just in time. I hope you found the trip to the bathroom enlightening. Take your seat. These rules are unique to this question. So you need to listen carefully." Neko yawned. "Rule one. You each have a choice to not answer the last question. It is your decision."

"What's the catch. What if we choose not to do it then what?" Temari asked.

"If you decide to not take the tenth and final question you'll get a zero. You'll fail. And your teammates fail with you. But if you do take the question and answer it incorrectly you will not only fail, but you will be banned from taking the exams ever again!" Ibiki said raising his voice. Neko grimaced.

" _No way am I giving up so easily. This will only be a minor setback."_ Neko smirked.

"That's bull! What kinda rule is that! There's lots of people here who have taken the test before!" Kiba shouted.

"I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. If you're scared then by all means skip it. You can come back and try next year." Neko looked over to Naruto. "If you're ready, the tenth and final question. If you don't wanna take it raise your hand." Some people raised their hands. Neko watched Naruto waiting for him to do something. She clenched her fists and looked at her paper.

"That little turd better not raise his hand after what I did to get his answers." Neko mumbled as Naruto began to shake. Slowly he began to raise his hand and Neko clenched her fists.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! I DON'T QUIT AND I DON'T RUN! YOU GUYS AREN'T GONNA SCARE ME OFF! NO WAY! I DON'T CARE IF I DO GET STUCK AS A GENIN FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, I'LL STILL BE HOKAGE SOMEDAY!" Naruto shouted. Neko smirked and let out a quiet chuckle.

"Good," She murmured. "Because if you gave up who knows what I would've done to you." Naruto sat back down and crossed his arms.

"This decision can change your life. Now is your final chance." Ibiki offered.

"No way, I never go back on my word. That's my way of the ninja." Naruto replied.

"Well then, I admire your determination. For those of you left there is only one more thing to do. And that's for me to tell you that you've all passed the first exam." Neko's eyes widened.

"What do you mean? Where's the tenth question." Sakura shouted.

"Your decision to stay was the tenth question. You see, there was never a written question." Ibiki explained.

"So the other nine questions were a waste of time? Is that what you're saying?" Temari asked.

"No, not all. The first nine questions had an important over riding purpose. To test your ability to gather information. Let me explain. I was trying to test you individually and as a team, and how you function in your team. I wanted to see how you would handle the pressure."

"Mmmhmm, yeah I figured it was something like that. That's why I kept my cool." Naruto claimed. Neko facepalmed and hit her head on the desk.

"Idiot." She muttered.

"The first nine questions on the test were too difficult for any genin to solve. I assume most of you came to the conclusion that you would have to cheat to pass. The test was designed to encourage cheating. I disguised two chunin who already knew the answer and had them sit with you."

"I wasn't fooled for a second. You'd have to be a complete doofus to see it." Naruto said.

"Better not to cheat than to cheat clumsily." Ibiki took off his head piece revealing his head. "Those who were caught fail. Information can be the most valuable weapon in battle. Sometimes you'll have to risk your life to get it. Intelligence gathered from an enemy isn't always accurate. I put you in the position to where you had to cheat in order to survive."

"I'm still not getting the point of the tenth question." Temari said.

"The tenth question was the whole point of the exam. Surely you get that."

"Sure but explain it any way." Sakura demanded.

"As I said before the goal was to test you as a part of a squad. The tenth question gave to two difficult choices. You could choose to play it safe, though it meant you and your team would fail. Or you could accept the question, knowing that if you answered it wrong you would lose your chance of ever becoming a chunin. It was a no win situation. But this is something a chunin has to face everyday. There will be many missions that seem suicidal, but you do not think about it. You think about achieving your mission through courage and discipline. These are the qualities a chunin squad leader. Those who choose the safer of the two paths, those who put their comrades lives in jeprody by worrying about their own. Those who would slit their necks at the price of honor would never be able to call themselves chunin. At least as long as I'm here. For the rest of you, you have earned the right to continue on. I declare this part of the exam completed. Good luck." Ibiki explained.

"ALRIGHT WE DID IT THAT'S ONE DOWN YEAH YEAH WOOHOO!" Naruto shouted. Neko rolled her eyes. Suddenly a kunai hit the window, breaking it and a woman jumped in the room.

"Hup boys and girls this is no time to celebrate. I'm your next proctor Anko Mitarashi. Ready for the second exam? Good follow me!" She screamed. Everyone just stared at her.

"You're early…again." Ibiki stated. Anko blushed with embarrassment.

"How many are there? Ibiki, you let all these guys pass. Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft." Anko complained.

"It could be a stronger crop of candidates this year." Ibiki stated. Neko leaned over to Gaara and whispered:

"Is it me or would they make a cute couple." No response. "Just me? Ok yeah I see where you would get that." She said, moving back to her original position.

"Before I'm done with them more than half will be eliminated. This is gonna be fun. You maggots have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different starting in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where to meet me. Dismissed." Anko stated. Everyone stood up and slowly began to leave, but when Naruto passed Neko she grabbed him by his collar pulling him back.

"What Neko?" Naruto asked, slightly annoyed until he saw the evil glint in her eyes.

"Watch this." She instructed. Turning around she innocently walked over to Ibiki, hands behind her back holding a paper. "Mister Ibiki sir?" She said innocently. "I forgot to return this earlier. Here ya go." Neko said handing Ibiki the answer sheet. His eyes widened.

" _How'd she get this undetected? Someone had to have seen her get it."_ Ibiki thought looking at her retreating form.

 **-888888888888888888-**

"Nice place, what is it?" Naruto asked as the group stood in front of the next exam area. Neko yawned.

"This is the location for the second exam, it's the 44 battle training zone. But we call it the Forest of Death." Anko explained.

"Forest of Death?" Naruto squeaked. Shuffling could be heard and Naruto and Neko looked over. Naruto began running back and forth as the Konohamaru ninja squad followed in their horrible disguise. "Yeah I knew it was you guys the whole time. What do you losers want, I'm getting ready to take the second exam. I don't have time to be playing around with you guys right now."

"We didn't come to play around boss, we're on official business." Konohamaru retorted.

"We came here for an exclusive interview." Moegi claimed, that seemed to catch Naruto's attention.

"An interview huh?" He asked sounding uninterested.

"We're here to write an article about the chunin selection examinations." Konohamaru explained

"That's why we want to do an exclusive interview with you. Please do it." Moegi said bringing her hands to her chin.

"It would mean a lot." Udon added.

"Yeah but right now…" Naruto complained.

"Hey, you over there. What are you doing." Anko asked walking over towards the group. "You're holding up the exams."

"Sorry. Konohamaru was just telling me about some interview for the academy newspaper." Naruto claimed. Anko gasped.

"I forgot all about it. Lord Hokage had mentioned something about them interviewing me." She said rubbing the back of her head.

"Interviewing you?" Naruto asked.

"We're taking a ten minute break, for those who are scheduled for the interviews please be polite and courteous to the academy newspaper." Anko commanded.

"I thought I was the only one who was going to be interviewed." Naruto said.

"No boss, but you are the most important!" Konohamaru claimed with a smile.

"I'll give you an interview that will make it clear to the readers why I am the best ninja ever." Naruto stated with a thumbs up. Neko rolled her eyes.

 **-888888888888888888-**

"No other genin can match any of my jutsu. Even Iruka-sensei is impressed! Now that I'm on squad seven I get to prove it by going on dangerous missions everyday!" Naruto said. "The other genin in squad seven are Sasuke, Sakura, and Neko. Sasuke Uchiha is a real pretentious guy. All the girls think he's cool but they don't realize how big a jerk he is. He's always swooping in at the last minute and making me look bad, but one day I'll show him. Then there's Sakura Haruno. She's madly in love with me. I don't think she'll ever admit it of course, but her coyness makes her cuter. Lastly there's Neko Sayumi. She's my best friend, and the shortest on the squad. She hates it when people call her short though. She's really fast and good at coming with strategies. Our squad can succeed in any mission no matter how dangerous. I wasn't always busy on missions, I did have to teach the Hokage a thing or two. Don't forget Iruka sensei, he and Neko were the only ones who were nice to me."

"The whole Naruto can't be about you boss!" Konohamaru complained.

"I'm sure Naruto is only talking about himself to those kids. I doubt he's mentioning us." Sakura said from a distance.

"That'd be just like him." Sasuke added.

"Come on guys, I bet he's telling them about our screw ups to make him look better." Neko claimed chuckling nervously.

 **-888888888888888888-**

"Moegi, if you wanna know the truth about Naruto talk to me. I'll tell you about his different ninjutsu. First there's his sexy jutsu, then there's his shadow clones, and lastly his harem jutsu. Most of the time Naruto is just being Naruto. Which isn't a good thing. Then there's Neko. She's annoying and short. She's always making smart comments, or she's always sleeping. And let me tell you one thing. You never want to try to wake her up from her naps. I learned the hard way. Multiple times. What I really want to talk about is the number one rookie Sasuke Uchiha. Not only did he graduate as the academy top student, but he's also the most popular guy in class. He can even hold his own with Kakashi sensei. He's so cool. Let me tell you about our sensei, Kakashi Hatake, also known as the copy ninja. His uses his Sharingan eye to copy the enemies technique, he's even copied over a thousand jutsu. But he is always reading his dumb book, and whenever he's supposed to meet us early in the he's always late. Like everyone else, Naruto gets on his nerves." Sakura informed.

 **-888888888888888888-**

"If you listen to Naruto then your article will be more fairytale than truth." Sasuke said.

"Oh no you don't Sasuke. They came here to interview me not you." Naruto claimed.

"They came here to interview everyone loser." Sasuke countered. Neko grabbed Naruto by the back of his shirt.

"Naruto, just let the Duck have his diva moment. He needs it." Neko said dragging Naruto away.

"Students taking the chunin exams are considered to be the cream of the crop, all except Naruto. Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka with Akamaru, and Shino Aburame. Each one of them is talented in their own unique way but I'm still better than all of them combined." Sasuke finished. Neko rolled her eyes.

" _That was more of a 'tell everyone they suck' instead of an interview."_

"Alright Neko your turn."

"Yeah yeah. So I'll give you the basics. Naruto is the team's knucklehead, Sakura is the team's brain, Sasuke is the team's arrogance, and I'm the team's speed. There, now when do I get to take a nap." Neko said.

"Thank you. That was a great interview!" Moegi stated.

"Knock em dead on the chunin exams boss." Konohamaru said. Naruto grinned. The three kids soon left.

 **-888888888888888888-**

"This place creeps me out." Sakura said holding her hands to her chest.

"Eh, looks alright to me." Neko stated.

"They call it the forest of death, and soon enough you're gonna find out why." Anko said with a smirk.

"'They call it the forest of death, and soon enough you're gonna find out why.'" Naruto mocked. "Do your worst, you're not gonna scare me away. I can handle anything"

"So we got a tough guy" Anko threw a kunai that cut Naruto's cheek. "Tough enough to handle this?" She asked appearing behind Naruto. "Not afraid are you? Guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest." Anko quickly pulled out another kunai and directed it behind her. A grass ninja with a long tongue held Anko's kunai, with her tongue. Neko shivered.

" _I know someone who does that nearly all the time."_ She thought.

"I was returning your knife." The grass ninja stated.

"Thank you grass ninja. I really only recommend you stand this close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end." Anko stated collecting her kunai.

"My apologies. With the sight of blood and the blade slicing through my hair, I got a little excited."

"Freaky." Neko mumbled. As the ninja walked past them she looked Neko in the eye and Memories instantly flashed through her mind.

 _~Flashback~_

" _W-what happened here?" A young girl asked in tears as she ran through her village. "Where's Mika? What's going on." Blood stained the walls of buildings. Dead bodies covered the ground._

" _Little girl are you okay?" A voice asked. Neko turned around and saw a man with long black hair walking towards her._

" _G-get away from me!" Neko shouted as she began to run. "MIKA! MIKA WHERE ARE YOU!"_

 _~Flashback End~_

 _~Flashback~_

" _Leave me alone!" Neko shouted from in the dark corner. "I don't wanna go!"_

" _It doesn't matter if you want to or not you will." The smooth voice demanded._

" _Lord Orochimaru, if you want I'll talk to her. She might need some convincing."_

" _Yes, please do Kimimaro." Orochimaru replied. The little girl curled into a ball as Kimimaro approached._

" _G-GET AWAY FROM ME!" She shouted._

 _~Flashback End~_

She held back a gasp and directed her eyes to the ground.

" **Kit, you can't cave in again, you don't even know if Orochimaru is actually here. Those were from the past. Forget about it."** Nikita said.

" _It's not easy to forget something so painful."_

" **You haven't seen Oreo-mayo yet, so don't jump to conclusions. Go with your team. The second exams are about to start."**

" _Three cheers for the Forest of Rainbows and Unicorns."_ Neko thought sarcastically as she followed her team, not even knowing the rules for the exam. " _I'll have to ask Naruto to explain them. I should pay attention more often."_ Team seven approached the gate and waited.

"Heads up you maggots, the second part of the exams have begun!" Anko shouted. The gates opened and the teams ran in.

 **-888888888888888888-**

 **A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry about the shorter chapter today I just really wanted to upload this chapter today like I said I would last week. I have a lot planned for the next chapter and I'm really excited, so I think it would be better if I put all of it together. Now if any of you are wondering about Mika, don't worry, everything will be explained next chapter.**

 **I want your opinion. Should I do a chapter in Neko's point of view? I originally planned to do the whole story in 3rd person POV, but now I'm not entirely sure… Anyways. Thanks for reading. See ya next time!**


	8. The Forest Of Rainbows and Unicorns

**Neko: I LOVE THIS CHAPTER, I'M SO BAD AS-**

 **Kittyluver: Okay don't spoil it you little twerp!**

 **Naruto: Yeah Neko! Don't spoil it!**

 **Neko: HMPH, Naruto you are just mad that you don't have the spotlight.**

 **Naruto:Oh Really! Well last I checked I ha-**

 **Kakashi: Kittyluver does not own Naruto she only owns Neko Nikita and the Jutsus she created.**

 **Neko: THAT'S IT NARUTO YOU ARE SO DEAD. I'M GONNA KI-**

 **Kakashi: Enjoy**

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Not even ten minutes in and the group already heard a scream.

" _That fast? Wow, someone must be rushing to get this done."_

" **And I suggest you do the same, I feel something familiar. A presence I haven't felt in years."** Nikita said. Neko nodded and looked to her team.

"I'm kinda getting a little nervous now." Sakura admitted. Neko looked at her and then Naruto.

"It was nothing Sakura, believe it." Naruto said nervously. Neko walked forward.

"Guys, let's not worry about that. I'm pretty sure that whoever attacked that team already has a scroll, and is gone. So don't worry. We need to make sure we get out of here in one piece. Alright?" Neko asked seriously. Naruto suddenly made a face.

"I-I gotta go!" He exclaimed making Neko roll her eyes as Sakura grew an anime vein.

" _Leave it to Naruto to make a serious situation an awkward one."_

"NOT OVER HERE, NARUTO YOU IDIOT! GO OVER THERE!" Sakura shouted hitting Naruto in the back of the head. Sasuke just watched with his hands in his pockets and Neko giggled.

"What?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.

"Well I was thinking," Neko began as Naruto walked away to use the bathroom. "Maybe if it was you who had to pee, Sakura would have insisted you stay over here, but if it was Naruto then, well you just saw. But you get what I'm saying right." Sasuke just looked at her with a disgusted expression and she just giggled. Moments later Naruto came back and Neko immediately knew something was wrong.

"Ah that was a lot, I even spelled my who-" Neko landed a kick to Naruto's gut.

"NEKO!" Sakura shouted in shock. Sasuke ran up to the fake Naruto and punched him as he tried to get up.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke growled.

"What was that for?!" The fake shouted.

"It was for pretending to be my best friend! Now, where is Naruto!" Neko replied sending a hard punch. The person dodged and Sasuke joined Neko in attacking.

"Neko," Sasuke lowly called out. "I'll handle this, you go find Naruto." Neko nodded and jumped away. She found Naruto tied on the ground and quickly used a kunai to untie him.

"C'mon, we need to help the others." She said pulling him up. Naruto nodded and they both sprinted towards where the rest of their team was. Naruto ran in front of Neko and reached the group first to see a rain ninja standing behind Sasuke, holding a kunai to his neck. Naruto launched a kunai towards the guy making him jump away from Sasuke, but Neko revealed herself and jumped up to kick the guy back down. Sasuke stabbed the guy in the chest, pushing in the air.

"Are you guys alright?" Sakura asked.

"Don't just stand there Sakura. This guy probably isn't alone!" Sasuke shouted. "Watch out. His teammates could strike at any time!"

"I wish, I came alone so I wouldn't arouse suspicion. Big mistake." The guy rasped as he flew in the air from Sasuke's push. He began jumping away.

" _Well he's gone, but we should keep an eye out and be more cautious. He might come back for revenge."_ Neko thought, narrowing her eyes at the direction he went to.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

"This proves that we can't just trust our appearances." Sasuke stated and Neko refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Oh no Sasuke," She started sarcastically. "I figured that if I saw someone who looked like Naruto I should trust them right away. It only seems logical." Sasuke glared at her but she just rolled her eyes.

"We need to come up with a way of knowing each of us is who we claim to be, or if it's an imposter with a transformation jutsu." Sasuke finished.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Sakura asked.

"We need a password, a secret one only known to us four. Don't trust anyone who does not know it. No matter what. I'm only going to say this once so listen closely. The question will be when does a ninja strike? Your response needs to be. A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard and his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike. Got it?" Sasuke informed. Neko looked up at the sky yawning.

"I got it." Sakura said.

"You got one a little shorter?" Naruto asked.

"No, that's it." Sasuke claimed.

"C'mon Naruto, didn't you get it? I remembered it easily." Sakura stated.

"Y-yeah sure I got it, no problem. I just thought that it would be a password. Not a pass speech." Naruto complained.

"I agree." Neko admitted.

"I'll take the scroll." Sasuke said standing up, ignoring Neko and Naruto's complaints. A sudden harsh wind came and blew at the group, separating them. Sasuke and Sakura stayed put, but Neko and Naruto both flew off into separate directions.

"CRAP!" Neko exclaimed, eyes wide. She began doing handsigns as she flew back farther and farther away. She lost sight of the spot her group was in by the time she finished. "Wind Real- OWWWWW WHAT'S THIS WALL MADE OF?! CEMENT?" Neko screamed as her back crashed into something hard. She heard two barely audible gasps and she stood up and turned around to see the three sand siblings. "Oh, it's you three." She said dryly before her rage took over. "NOW WHICH ONE OF YOU PUT THE HARD WALL THERE! THAT ACTUALLY HURT YA KNOW!" She shouted.

"That wasn't a wall you hit." Kankuro began. "It was Gaara." Neko put her hand to her chin in thought.

"Really?" She asked. Kankuro and Temari nodded. "Oh."

"Where did you come from?" Temari asked and Neko held back a mischievous grin.

"Well when a mommy and a daddy fall in love-"

"I mean," Temari interrupted. "Why did you crash into Gaara?"

"Oh, you meant that? Well ya see, he was in the way." Temari made a confused face. "Well ya know, me and my team were sitting together after being attacked and then Sasuke, being a duckbutt, says 'we need a password.'" Neko says attempting to imitate Sasuke's deep voice. "And then he says a whole speech, that he expects us to memorize, as the password and I was too tired to remember. Then he's all like, 'I'm the boss and I'm not changing the password. Give me the scroll, I'm better than you.', well he didn't really say that but his attitude gives it away. Only seconds later a big gust of wind comes and blows us away. I was about to stop myself, but _HE_ had to be standing right there at that second! If he moved a couple steps over then that would've saved me from a major back ache!" Neko complained gesturing to Gaara.

"You're annoying. I'll kill you." Gaara stated bluntly making Neko turn to him. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared right into his eyes.

"Hmmmmmm, are you mad that I showed you up in the first exam? Or is it because I haven't given you a nickname yet? Either way, I dare you to try." Neko growled seriously. Temari and Kankuro gaped at her.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed!" Kankuro whispered harshly receiving a glare from Neko.

"Who says Gaara can kill me?" She asked. "I mean, he can try but I'm not going to go down without fighting. And besides, I still have to-" Neko's eyes widened and she gasped. "Crap." She mumbled. "I just forgot. I need to go back to my team and save them." She stated.

"From what?" Kankuro asked confused by her sudden mood change.

"I don't know." Neko bluntly said making every, except Gaara, sweatdrop. "But if they are in trouble then I can get back and save them, then I'll be a hero!"

" _Did this kid hit her head when she was a baby?"_ Kankuro asked himself.

"But seriously, back to the main point. If you want to try to kill me, do it after this exam when I have the time." Neko said seriously.

" _Is this girl even the slightest bit afraid?"_ Temari thought.

"You're not afraid of me." Gaara said. It was a statement, not a question.

"What's there to be afraid of?" She asked before doing a hand sign, I've gotta go." She said turning around. "One last thing," She turned her neck so she could see the three sand ninja. "Thanks for the scrolls. Your help is appreciated."

"Huh?" Kankuro asked looking at the spot he hid the scrolls. Neko smirked as Kankuro gasped as the two scrolls disappeared in a flash of red.

"When I said thanks, I didn't know where the scrolls actually were. You gave them away by looking at where you had them." She explained as she ran away. "SEE YA IN THE NEXT EXAM!" And she disappeared from their sight.

" **Keep an eye on that girl. I sense a familiar presence deep within her."** A rough voice demanded in Gaara's mind.

 **-8888888888888888888888888888-**

Neko jumped from tree to tree looking for her team.

" _Where are they? Was I gone for too long? I really should've left when I first thought about it."_ Neko thought to herself as she put the two scrolls she got in her weapon pouch. " _Worst case scenario: Everyone's dead or unconscious."_

" **Have some faith in your team."**

" _Yes…Mother."_ Neko gasped at the sight she saw. She stopped jumping and stood on a high tree branch and put one hand against the tree for balance.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." She mumbled feeling her stomach grow restless as fear overtook her body. She stood frozen and watched as a man pulled his unusually long neck away from Sasuke. "Orochimaru." She whispered.

" _NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I thought I got away from him! I thought, I thought- UGH! H-he's here. Right in front of me. A-and he got to Sasuke!"_ Neko slowly turned her neck a little to the right and gasped. Naruto was hanging unconscious from a tree, being held by a kunai knife. " _Him too."_ She bit her lip and began panicking.

" **Kit, you need to help your team out now before he gets Sakura as well."** But Neko ignored her beast out of fright. She was terrified. The man standing up there has done countless horrible things. To her, to others, and no one could stop him. " **KIT, ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET HIM HURT YOUR FRIENDS LIKE YOU LET HIM HURT YOU!"** Nikita shouted flaring up her chakra to catch her host's attention. Orochimaru's head flicked up to the tree she was on, having sensed a small chakra flare. Sakura followed his gaze, gripping tightly onto an unconscious Sasuke.

"Neko." The pinkette whispered, a reassuring feeling spread through her body until she noticed the look of fear of Neko's face. But this wasn't just fear. Neko's gaze held more emotions than she could think of. Fear, anger, pain, regret, sorrow, hate, despair, nervousness, and she looked timid.

"Well, well. If it isn't Neko. It's been awhile hasn't it." Orochimaru stated with a grin. Neko gulped and shifted her gaze to Sakura. She met Sakura's eyes and felt reassurance.

" _I need to protect Sakura while she gets the boys away. It's the only way to save them probably."_ Neko pulled her hand off the tree and jumped down, landing in front of her pink haired teammate.

"Sakura, I want you to take Sasuke and Naruto and get out of here now." Neko said in a low voice, overcoming her fear with the need to protect her friends. "Get them somewhere safe, I'll meet up with you there."

"But-" Sakura started.

"NO SAKURA! JUST GO, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Sakura nodded hearing the small trace of fear in Neko's voice. She picked up Sasuke's body and jumped over to where Naruto was. Orochimaru's eyes flashed with amusement.

"You're so much like her." He stated causing Neko to growl. "So protective of friends and _family_. You act brave even though you're terrified on the inside. You always seem to be happy no matter what. You're the spitting image of her. You look just like her with your hair and eyes. May-"

"LEAVE _HER_ OUT OF THIS!" Neko snapped.

"Heh, so I see she's a touchy subject for you. How long has it been since she died? Well, that doesn't matter. She was weak. She lacked intellect. She was a coward. She was worthless. She was a disappointment to the Sayumi clan. Even I-"

"LEAVE MY BIG SISTER OUT OF THIS!" Neko shouted as she slowly began to change. Her eyes flashed a darker green before turning back to the regular color, a tiny little stub popped out from her lower back only growing about an inch long, her ears moved up a little, the top whisker on the left side of her face popped out and became a real whisker, and her nails grew longer. "You have no right to speak of her that way!"

 _~FlashBack~_

" _Big sister! Big sister!" A young six year old shouted running through the house. "Where are you?" She asked playfully, bursting into the second biggest room in the building. She ran up to the eighteen year old and tackled her from her chair. Of course the older jounin let her younger sister jump on her._

" _What do you need Neko?" The older girl asked with a smile. The younger red head stood up and put her hands on her hips._

" _I want you," She pointed to the older girl. "To come outside," She pointed at the door. "And play with me." Neko finished pointing both thumbs to her chest. The older girl smiled._

" _I can't right now, I'm busy." Neko pouted._

" _Fine then, I'll just go tell Dachi about his new fan girl. I wanna see how he reacts when he finds out that Mika, the strongest Sayumi ever, has a crush on him!" Neko stated throwing her hands around. Mika laughed nervously and quickly pulled Neko off of her feet putting their foreheads together._

" _Alright, you win I'll play with you." Neko giggled. "But what makes you think I'm the strongest Sayumi ever?" Neko grinned at her older sister._

" _Because, you are always there to protect me and you never let anyone hurt the people you love. You let your heart guide you, not your leader." Neko stated proudly. Mika merely shook her head putting Neko down on top of her bed._

" _Wise words for a six year old. Where did you steal them from?" Mika asked making Neko pout._

" _Hey! Just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't be smart you turd-fart."_

" _Turd-Fart?"_

" _Yup!" Neko looked down at the bed. "Mika." Mika looked at her younger sister with concern._

" _What is it? What's wrong red?"_

" _Well, when I grow up do you think that I'll be pretty and kind and smart, just like you?" Neko asked. Mika smiled and pulled Neko's head up to look her in the eyes._

" _You wanna know what I think?" She asked the young girl. Neko gave a small nod and Mika sighed letting her sister go and walking towards the window. "Well, I think that when you grow up, you'll be prettier, kinder, and smarter than me. You'll even be stronger than me." Neko looked at her sister in surprise._

" _R-really?" Mika nodded and walked back over to her sister._

" _As long as you promise me one thing. Always keep a smile on your face. Find the cord that keeps you bound to happiness. Don't let anyone take the smile away from your face. Your emotions give you great strength. Alright?" Neko nodded vigorously._

" _Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I promise big sister! And then when I become as strong as you we can train together and everything!" Neko nearly shouted. She grabbed Mika's hand and began pulling her to the door. "Now let's go play."_

 _~FlashBack End~_

"Mika was a great person. She was loyal, caring, kind, strong." Neko lunged at Orochimaru angrily. She swiped at his face and he leaned back dodging. Neko growled and sent a kick towards his feet. He jumped up to dodge but was surprised when Neko managed to still kick him. "And you, you, you…"

 _~FlashBack~_

" _W-what happened here?" A young girl asked in tears as she ran through her village. "Where's Mika? What's going on." Blood stained the walls of buildings. Dead bodies covered the ground._

" _Little girl are you okay?" A voice asked. Neko turned around and saw a man with long black hair walking towards her._

" _G-get away from me!" Neko shouted as she began to run. "MIKA! MIKA WHERE ARE YOU!" The man chuckled, staying where he was as he watched the girl's retreating figure._

" _Lord Orochimaru. Shall I chase?" A man asked._

" _No. Let her find her sister, then we can kill two birds with one stone."_

 _ **-8888888888888888-**_

" _M-Mika." Neko sobbed as she turned the corner. "W-where are you big sister?" She heard a sudden bang and gasped running towards where the noise came from. She suddenly stopped when someone jumped in front of her._

" _N-Neko? What are you doing here?" The stern voice asked. Neko looked up and saw the worried face of her older sister._

" _M-MIKA!" Neko shouted sobbing into her sister's shirt._

" _Neko you need to get out of here now." Mika said in a stern voice. Neko looked up at her older sibling in confusion. "I want you to run. Run as far as you can away from here. Go find help in a different village if you can. Just get out of here before he ge-"_

" _What a warming sight." Neko turned around to see the snake-like face of Orochimaru._

 _~FlashBack End~_

"You invaded our village." She growled as he stood up and sent a punch at her only for her to swiftly dodge. "Taking only me and her back with you." Both of them began performing hand signs. "And then you…you,"

~ _FlashBack~_

 _Neko whimpered at the roughness in the guard's grip. He dragged her through a dark hallway, but she could see perfectly fine._

" _I'm not telling you." A firm voice could be heard as they approached the door._

" _Well then, maybe you need a little convincing." A sick voice said. And with that the man holding Neko's shoulders opened the door and dragged her in the big room, letting her go. She gaped at the sight of her sister._

" _MIKA!" Neko shouted running to her sister and glomping her. Mika, however, didn't return the hug._

" _Now tell me," Orochimaru said standing up from his chair. "Which one of you is the eleven tailed Jinchuuriki?" He asked. Mika looked at Neko and Neko caught the trace of concern in Mika's eyes._

" _Why?" Mika asked sternly trying hard to not show any emotion. "What's it to you?" Orochimaru sighed._

" _That is none of your concern. Now tell me or your little sister over here…" The man came over and pulled Neko away from her sister._

 __" _Me." Mika whispered. "I am the Jinchuuriki of the eleven tailed beast, Nikita." She lied._

" _No." Neko whispered as Orochimaru chuckled._

" _That's all you needed to say." He replied before performing a jutsu, killing Mika. "And now, the eleven tailed beast is dead." He stated evilly._

" _No," Neko muttered tears filling her eyes. "NO!"_

 _~FlashBack End~_

"YOU KILLED HER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!" Neko shouted finishing her hand signs. "Lightning Style: Tail Binding!" Lighting was heard all throughout the forest. The lighting gathered around Orochimaru, and he stopped his hand signs looking at Neko as she moved her arms. Suddenly her arms shot out towards him and a large tail of lightning shot out towards Orochimaru. He jumped and dodged it as it continued to follow him. Neko pulled her arms back and threw them out again, the tail began gaining speed. It hit Orochimaru in the back, and he landed on a tree. The tail faded away and he smirked.

"Where did you get this power from?" He asked curiously as he sunk into the tree and disappeared. Neko growled and jumped in the air as his hand shot out to grab her. "And this speed. It's unusual." He remarked. Neko glared at him as he came out of the ground.

"Maybe for you." She spat launching a kick his way.

"Then amuse me. Where did you get this sudden power boost. The one whisker, darker eyes, longer nails, the not fully grown tail, and not fully formed cat ears. Do tell. I am most curious." Orochimaru informed. Neko glared at the man. "I can only assume that the beast was sealed into y-"

"Well you're wrong." Neko interrupted. "Mika inserted some of her chakra into me when I was a child. And I've decided now is the time to use it." Neko lied.

"Why now of all times? Why not when-"

"I don't have to tell you these things!" Neko snapped charging forward. Orochimaru smirked and did some handsigns.

"Summoning Jutsu." He calmly said. A poof of smoke appeared and when it blew away Orochimaru stood on a large snake. But that didn't stop Neko. She jumped on the snake's head and tackled Orochimaru. He smirked as he fell from the snake's head. Neko grabbed a tree branch, hanging on it, as she pulled out some kunai. She launched it to the spot where Orochimaru was going to land. It hit the ground and exploded. Neko pulled herself up on the branch in a crouching position and looked around. The giant snake began crawling towards her and she did some hand signs.

"Fire Style: Flaming Cat Claw!" She shouted pulling her arm back as a chakra claw with tips of fire formed. She jerked her arm towards the snake. The claw hit the snake and it poofed away. Neko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "That was _too_ easy. Where is tha-" Neko was kicked off the branch and she grunted as she landed on the ground.

"You seem stronger but not strong enough." Orochimaru sighed. Neko pulled herself up, panting.

" **Kit, you've used up too much chakra already. I can supply you with only a little more and then we are going to be snake food. You need to get away."** Neko glared at Orochimaru.

" _I didn't think it would be over this fast. Dang. I wasn't expecting to be able to beat him but I wasn't expecting to run in so blindly. This is so frustrating."_ Neko watched as Orochimaru walked up to her. He stopped a good distance in front of her.

"Hmm. You seem to be exhausted. Maybe you aren't as strong as I thought. Oh well, I got what I came for. Sasuke Uchiha, he's good with his sharingan, isn't he?" Orochimaru asked.

"Leave Sasuke alone!" Neko demanded. Orochimaru smirked.

"Heh, even if I do, he'll still come to me for power…looks as if my parting time has come." Orochimaru said looking up at the moon. He chuckled before disappearing into the darkness of night. Neko fell to her knees. She was angry, relieved, scared. Angry because Orochimaru got to her team, relieved because he left, and scared for what is going to happen in the future.

"Dang it." She mumbled clenching her fists. "DANG IT!" She shouted as she punched the ground in rage. Purple chakra swirled around her body. She growled and punched the ground again in anger, unaware of the sand eye watching her.

" **Control yourself."** Nikita said sternly. Nikita forced her chakra to return to her, and the purple chakra slowly faded. Slowly Neko returned to normal, her eyes turning back to the normal color, the little stub disappeared, her longer nails pulled back to normal, and her ears lowered. Lastly the one whisker that was popped out slowly lined back up against her skin and melted back into her skin leaving the old whisker mark.

"I need to find Sakura." Neko mumbled feeling dizzy. She slowly made her way through the forest and smiled a little when she saw Sakura in a small little cave like area with Naruto and Sasuke laying down.

"Neko!" Sakura exclaimed once she saw the condition her friend was in.

"Hey Sakura," Neko mumbled. "I think I'm gonna take a nap." She said before she fell over and passed out.

 _ **-8888888888888888-**_

"Kit you know why you're here, don't you?" Nikita asked laying in the cage.

"Yeah I guess." Neko mumbled. Nikita sighed and looked Neko in the eye.

"We need to talk about what you did." Nikita claimed.

"Something I did?" Neko repeated and Nikita nodded.

"You remember, when he mentioned your sister, you changed." Neko nodded. "It's called the 7 stage transformation. You just unlocked stage one."

"Cool." Neko mumbled. "So can anyone do this?"

"No. The only pair that I know can do it is me and you. You see, if a ninja wanted to extract me from you they wouldn't be able to. The only way to separate me and you is by using the 7 stage transformation to its fullest."

"And why's that."

"Because I was sealed into you before you were born. So over time I slowly merged with you while you were in your mother's womb. Unlike some other beasts I am a calm beast, and I welcomed the merge. If I didn't welcome us merging then we wouldn't be able to do this. Like I said, you unlocked the first stage so now you can transform to the first stage whenever you want, as long as we both focus our chakra together. So if you were in the middle of a battle you would have to stall for time to be able to transform."

"But if what happens when I do merge?"

"Well you remember the physical changes. You could see a lot better in the dark, you were a little faster than normal. And one of your whiskers popped out. If one pops out then that means you're on the first stage. But when you transform into the second stage then the top whisker on the right side of your face will pop out as well. If you have 4 whiskers visible then that means you are on the fourth stage. It's fairly simple."

"Right." Neko muttered. "So how much longer till I get to go and see my team again?" Nikita sighed.

"I don't know. You passed out from using too much chakra so it could be awhile. But Sakura is fine so don't worry. She'll protect you."

 **-8888888888888888-**

 **A/N: And that is it for this chapter. This chapter was supposed to be more informative and reveal more about Neko's past she never told anyone about. I've had this sister thing planned out for awhile because I figured it would add a twist to the story. Well I think that's all I need to say for now so, see ya in the next chapter.**


	9. Prelims Begin Things Get Interesting

**Naruto: YOU'RE LATE!**

 **Kittyluver: I'm sorry Naruto, but my internet was down**.

 **Sakura: That excuse is worse than Kakashi sensei's**

 **Kakashi: What my excuses are fine.**

 **Kittyluver: But it's true! I didn't get it fixed till a while ago!**

 **Sasuke: What even is internet**.

 **Sakura: Yeah, how do we know that you** **aren't lying to us. I've never heard of the internet**.

 **Kittyluver: But- but**

 **Naruto: Save it for later! I wanna see what happens in this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, I only own Neko, Nikita, and the Jutsus I create.**

-8888888888888888-

" _Come on now Neko, you need to get in the bath." Mika sighed. Neko giggled walking over to her older sister. She put one leg over the tub and was about to drop it in the water until:_

 _"DON'T TOUCH THE WATER!" Nikita shouted. Neko pulled her leg back and looked up at Mika._

 _"Big sissy, Niki won't let me touch the water." Neko said._

 _"My name is Nikita little twerp." Mika chuckled at her little sister._

" _Alright then what does Nikita say we should do to get you clean?" Mika asked with her hands on her hips._

 _"You need to lick yourself clean kit. Us cats do it all the time." Neko made a face before giggling._

 _"Ewwwww! I'm not going to lick myself clean!" Neko exclaimed while giggling. Mika smiled and picked her little sister up._

 _"So what did Nikita say?" Neko giggled some more._

 _"Tell your sister to try the licking method, it'll do some work on her skin and she might look decent."_

 _"Niki said that maybe you should try the licking method, it'll make you look prettier." The five year old girl said. Mika rolled her eyes._

" _Alright let's get you in the tub." Neko nodded and jumped in the water filled tub against Nikita's wishes._

 _-8888888888888888-_

 _Neko leaned back on her arms watching the sunset. The girl blew a strand of hair out of her face and laid back on the grass._

 _"What are you doing out here?" A sweet voice asked causing the six year old to look up._

 _"This is the only quiet place in the area. Everyone else is celebrating at the yearly moon festival." Neko said sadly sitting back up. Mika sighed and sat beside her little sister._

" _You know what else today is right?" Neko nodded sadly._

 _"But nobody else cares about it." Neko mumbled looking at the ground, her eyes glazed over._

 _"You're wrong." Mika claimed grabbing Neko's shoulders and pulling her over in front of her. "I care about it." Mika said poking the girl's nose. "So," Mika began untying the light blue bandana around her arm. "Happy birthday." She finished as she tied it around Neko's arm. Neko gave her sister a smile before tackling her into a hug._

 _"Thank you." Neko said into Mika's vest. Mika ruffled Neko's hair and smiled._

 _"That was Dad's, promise me you'll never lose it. Alright?" Neko nodded vigorously._

 _"I promise!"_

-8888888888888888-

 _Thunder rumbled and rain pounded against the roof of the building. A little girl whimpered in her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Another sudden rumble was heard and she let out a small cry. Her door burst open and a figure ran to her side._

 _"Hey, are you okay? Neko what's wrong?" A concerned voice asked. Thunder rumbled for a third time and Neko whimpered crawling into the comforting arms of her older sister. "Is it the thunder you're scared of?"_

 _"Yeah." Neko answered quietly. "And it was raining the day he died." Neko added in whisper. Mika silently cursed. She wasn't there when their father was murdered. She was out on a mission. She arrived just in time to hear Neko's scream and save her from their father's attacker._

 _"It's alright, I'm here and I won't let anyone get to you. Okay?" Neko nodded and fell asleep in her sister's arms._

 _"I'll protect you no matter what. Even if it means my death." Mika thought to h_ erself.

-8888888888888888-

"Agh!" Neko heard someone cry in pain as she slowly regained her senses. She was laying on cold, hard ground. There was a breeze.

 _"I'm outside, but where? Oh yeah! Sakura's shelter she found_!" Neko thought.

"Lee!" Neko heard Sakura call. She tried to sit up but laid back down after a sharp pain went through her back.

"Sa…ku…ra," Neko hoarsely called out but no one heard her. She slowly pushed herself up again ignoring the burning pain. When she opened her eyes her vision was blurry at first but she made out five figures in a clearing and two laying down beside her.

" **Kit, we need to do the transformation. It's the only way for you to gain your senses back fast enough**." Nikita said and Neko nodded slowly. Nikita began concentration chakra while Neko slowly stood up.

"Looks like the other girl woke up!" Zaku exclaimed causing Sakura to look back.

" _Nikita, they know I'm up and they'll come after me. Give me some chakra that I can use then I'll stall them while you concentrate the chakra for the transformation."_ Neko felt Nikita's chakra flow through her body. The blurriness in her eyes grew smaller and Neko managed to walk over to Sakura. Lee laid beside Sakura unconscious.

"Sakura," Neko began as Sakura looked at her teammate. "Stay back. Let me handle this."

"Alright, but be careful. He uses sound to attack you. There's this weird thing attached to his arm." Neko nodded and turned towards the three sound ninja. She did a single handsign and started sprinting around the area. One second she was on a tree branch and the next she was behind the ninja.

" _I need to cause a distraction. I'm not strong enough to take them all on, I need the transformation."_ Nekotold herself.

" ," She said innocently making all three ninja turn around quickly. "Why do you look so weird?" This made Dosu growl. Neko quickly jumped onto a tree branch. "And Hair, your boyfriend with the weird hair seems dumb and temperamental. You could do better." Neko insulted with a childish giggle. Zaku growled and jumped towards Neko.

"You little!" He said as he tackled her to the ground.

"NEKO!" Sakura shouted worried for her friend. Suddenly Neko poofed away causing everyone to look around for the real her.

"You're more stupid than I thought. I over estimated your intelligence. Wow." Neko said causing the sound ninja to look behind him to see she was leaning against a tree. "You three remind me of a cow with those clothes." Kin glared and Neko just giggled. "You're slow, let's play tag! If you can catch me then I'll stop insulting you. But if you can't catch me then you're just slower than a turtle on it's birthday."

"You little bi-"

"Ready? GO!" Neko shouted as she disappeared. The three sound ninja backed up to where their backs were touching and they each faced away from each other.

"How is this brat so fast?" Kin asked her group. Neko giggled as she ran around the group.

"It's natural." She answered giving away the direction she went in. Kin took two steps away from Zaku and Dosu and sent a senbon towards Neko. Neko swiftly dodged. "That was close, you almost had me. But your aim was terrible." Sakura watched curiously.

" _Why is she angering them? Doesn't she know the angrier they get the worse the situation will be for her._ " Sakura pondered.

 **"Kit just give me a couple more seconds.** " Nikita commanded.

" _Nikita, I don't think we have the time. They're catching on. That senbon was really close to hitting me. I can't keep this speed up with my condition._ " Neko slowed down and looked at the three sound ninja.

"Game over!" She claimed putting on a happy face. "I win! You all are too slow cow ninja. Now get ready for my ultimate move!" Neko exclaimed doing hand signs quickly.

"What is she doing?" Dosu asked his teammates.

"7 Stage Transformation: Stage One Unlock!" Neko shouted and her body slowly began to change. She looked exactly like she did when she fought Orochimaru. Neko's eyes flashed a darker green before turning back to the regular color, a tiny little stub popped out from her lower back only growing about an inch long, her ears moved up a little, the top whisker on the left side of her face popped out and became a real whisker, and her nails grew longer sort of like cat claws.

"What the?" Sakura mumbled.

"Now, you leave me and my team alone. I'm sick and tired of people thinking they can just push us around cause we're kids. WELL NEWSFLASH," Neko began angrily. She charged at the three ninja. "WE AREN'T AS WEAK AS YOU THINK!" She punched Zaku and Dosu in the gut, sending them flying backwards. She sent her leg out and knocked Kin off of her feet before sending her flying as well.

"She's strong." Zaku stated.

"Get ready Zaku, Kin." Dosu commanded and both his teammates nodded. Neko ran toward them again but this time they countered. Kin sent Senbon and Dosu sent a sound wave. Neko quickly covered her ears and jumped back. Scrunching her face she observed the three.

" _Sound waves and Senbon. I need to think."_ She did a hand sign.

"Shadow clone Jutsu." She mumbled and three copies of herself appeared. Neko looked at one and couldn't help but saying; "Man I look sweet with this transformation."

Activating her Tassei Hitomi she focused on the spot behind the sound ninja and one of the clones did as well. They appeared right behind them and deactivated the eyes. All four Nekos jumped on the sound ninja. Dosu sent a sound wave making one clone disappear and Kin hit another in the chest with a senbon. The last clone managed to hit Zaku in the leg with a kunai causing him to cry in pain while the real Neko sliced Kin's arm.

"Brat." Kin mumbled. The clone jumped on Dosu's back and punched him in the back of the head making him stumble forward while Neko kicked him backward. Zaku took out the last clone and the ninja turned to see the real Neko doing another set of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Flaming Cat Claw!" Neko shouted and a huge chakra claw coated in flames formed. She swiped the claw at the sound ninja and they quickly jumped to dodge. Neko continued to swipe at them. She hit Kin in the back knocking her out, but the chakra claw faded after that.

" **We're running out of time.** **You got about two minutes left before the transformation fades**." Nikita informed making Neko inwardly curse. She heard Sakura cry out making her turn to her teammate. Zaku held Sakura by her hair.

"Let her go!" Neko demanded. Zaku chuckled and pulled out a kunai.

"One more step and she dies." He threatened. Dosu smirked and went over and kicked Neko into a tree. Neko growled and stood up only to cry out and put her hands to her ears in pain.

"A person's weakness can be the people they care about." Dosu chuckled.

"L-leave her a-alone." Neko growled as her transformation began to fade causing her normal appearance to come back.

"What are you gonna do abo-"

"Hey! Get this chick off me!" Neko looked up to see a blurry figure of Sakura attacking Zaku. Neko tried to stand back up but she fell down in pain. Her vision started to blur and the ringing noise in her ears continued.

"So tired." She mumbled as she went in and out of consciousness. She opened her eyes again and saw Tenten and Neji, but what they were saying was blocked out by the ringing that continued in her ears. She saw Sasuke standing up and walking towards Sakura. He looked at Sakura then at Neko who gave a weak chuckle. "And you complain about how much I sleep. I think I'm gonna take a nap." She said before she fell unconscious completely.

-8888888888888888888888888888-

Neko opened her eyes to see she was on Naruto's back. Her team was walking into a clearing.

"Hey." She mumbled catching Naruto's attention.

"Hey, Neko's awake!" He claimed causing Sakura and Sasuke to turn around and look at her. Neko got off of Naruto's back and looked ahead.

"We're going up to this clearing to get fish and some water. Then we'll strategize." Sasuke announced and she nodded. Once they got into the clearing Sasuke and Naruto walked over to the pond while Sakura pulled Neko aside to talk.

"Okay, what was that?" Sakura asked causing Neko to look at her confused. "That cool Jutsu you used to change."

"Oh that? Well it's called the Seven Stage Transformation. That was stage one. You see I unlocked it earlier when fighting Oreo-moo moo." Sakura giggled at the name. "Well I was going to transform before I fought but they noticed me so I had to distract them by asking questions."

"So you acted happy to distract them?" Sakura asked and Neko nodded.

"I had to concentrate my chakra," Neko lied not wanting to reveal Nikita. "So I had to cause a distraction. Then I transformed and increased my senses and speed." Neko finished as she picked up some sticks to use for the fire. Sakura nodded and they both put the sticks in a pile. Neko sat down and glared at the sticks while Sakura called for Sasuke.

"Do I have to do everything around here?" Sasuke complained. Neko continued to glare at the fire. Sasuke looked at her. "What are you doing twerp?"

"I'm trying to light a fire. My theory is that if I glare at it enough then it'll burst into flames. I've already tried it on you and Kakashi sensei's book but it never worked."

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And I even know Naruto can come up with something better than that." Sasuke said making Neko huff. Naruto walked over with the fish and they began to cook.

"So what are we gonna do?" Naruto asked.

"Well we're already four days in. So that means that there might not be many teams with scrolls." Sasuke began.

"Why do we care about scrolls? We've already got both." Neko stated earning questioning looks.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Neko pulled out a heaven and an earth scroll from her pouch. "When?"

"What, do you really think that I was dancing with the flowers while Orochimaru attacked?"

"Yeah." Naruto mumbled earning himself a hit to the head.

"No, I ran into a team and took their scrolls. It was pretty easy too."

"What team?" Sakura asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Neko said with a smirk.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter, now we need to get to the tower." Sasuke stated and everyone nodded. The group stood up and took off.

- **8888888888888888888888888888** -

Team seven stood in a line with the other teams. Team eight, Team ten, the sand siblings, who seemed to be glaring at Neko, Kabuto's team, the Sound ninja from earlier, and Lee's team. Neko felt great and full of energy. Her team made it to the tower without encountering any other teams, so they were all full of energy. Currently a man was explaining the preliminary round to them and Neko just ignored everything he said. He directed his hand towards a board where different names flickered on it.

"Me first, me first, me first." Neko chanted in her head. The board stopped on two names making Neko groan. Naruto cheered happily.

 **Naruto Uzumaki VS Hinata Hyuuga**

Neko inwardly smirked.

" _No offense Hinata but Naruto's gonna win. You're crushing on him too hard._ " Neko turned to Hinata.

"Good luck Hinata! Kiss him good." Neko giggled.

"N-Neko?!" Hinata asked in shock.

"What?" Neko asked innocently. "All I said was kick his butt." Naruto watched with confusion while Sakura snickered. Neko turned to Naruto. "If you lose it's okay you can just be my sidekick." She giggled before walking up to the balcony. The rest of the teams went to their own spots on the balcony except for Hinata and Naruto who stood in front of each other.

"Begin!" Hayate commanded and Hinata just looked at Naruto. Naruto took a step forward and she took a step backward and began to blush. Neko turned to her team.

"Watch this." She told them. "NARUHINA FOR LIFE!" Hinata blushed as red as a tomato and Naruto just looked with confusion.

"Hinata are you okay? You look sick." Naruto claimed coming closer to her. He put a hand on her shoulder and she fainted. Neko snickered while Naruto looked at Hinata with confusion.

"He's so oblivious." She mumbled.

"Naruto Uzumaki wins." Hayate said and Naruto came up to his team with a grin.

"Ha! See if you can beat that Sasuke!" Naruto boasted. "All I had to do was touch her!" Neko shook her head.

"If only you knew." She muttered looking to the name board.

 **Tenten VS Dosu Kinuta**

Both of them hopped down to the arena and got ready.

"Hope you're ready to lose girly." Dosu growled. Tenten just got herself ready.

"Alright, begin!" Hayate said and Tenten immediately jumped back pulling out a scroll. Dosu put up his arm and some sound waves came out and hit Tenten making her fly back. She hit the wall and groaned. Dosu smirked and sent another sound wave.

"Come on Tenten! You can do it!" Lee shouted but Neko knew she couldn't. The second sound wave hit her and she put her hands up to her ears. After Dosu sent many more at her she fainted.

"Dosu Kinuta is the winner of the match." Hayate said.

"I wanna go. I wanna go. I wanna go. I wanna go." Neko began to chant. Sasuke and Sakura looked at her.

"Wait your turn." Sasuke said and Neko groaned.

"But I wanna go now." Kakashi ruffled her hair.

"Be patient. You might be the last to go." He told her. Neko looked at the name board and smirked.

"Ha! In your face sensei! What was that about me going last?" Kakashi sighed.

 **Neko Sayumi VS Gaara**

Neko jumped down and Gaara did as well.

"Alright, begin." Hayate said before jumping back.

"HOLD UP!" Neko shouted waving her hands in the air. "JUST WAIT A SECOND!"

"What?" Gaara demanded, slightly annoyed he had to wait before killing her. Neko walked up to him and stopped a distance away before turning and looking at the stands where the other teams stood. She looked back and forth from Gaara to a certain boy in the stands before snickering to herself.

"Hey, did Lee steal your eyebrows?" She asked. Gaara's eyes widened to the point where it was barely noticeable. He was caught off guard by the random question. Naruto burst into laughter, and the sand siblings watched with caution.

"What?" Gaara asked again.

"Did. Lee. Steal. Your. Eyebrows?" She recited, but slower as if she were addressing a child. "I mean seriously. Where are they."

"HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF SUCH AN UN YOUTHFUL THING!" Lee shouted. Neko giggled and took a couple steps back and took a fighting position. And she waited.

 **"Kit he said go**."

" _I'm waiting for Gaara to make the first move. I want to see what he can do."_

" **It** l **ooks to me as if he's waiting for you to make a move**." Neko inwardly groaned.

" _Then I'll convince him to start it off."_ She said before smirking. She put in hand out and gestures towards Gaara.

"Ladies first." Neko could feel Nikita face palm and she could hear Naruto snicker. Gaara growled and sent sand her way which she narrowly avoided. "Watch out!" She shouted comically as she jumped over some more sand. Kankuro made his way over to team seven.

"Your teammate is screwed." He told them making them look with confusion.

"And why's that?" Naruto asked loudly.

"She has pushed Gaara's buttons. She showed him up in the first exam and then in the second exam she flew into Gaara. Then she took our scrolls and left. But when Gaara threatened to kill her she responded confidently. Her exact words were: 'If you wanna try to kill me do it after this exam when I have the time." Kankuro informed. Naruto looked over to Neko.

"So your team is the group of chumps that she managed to get the scrolls from." Sasuke said earning a growl from Kankuro.

Gaara watched Neko's movements. She was fast enough to dodge most of the sand. Her words kept repeating in his head;

" _What's there to be afraid of_?" He was going to show her fear. She would fear him, then he would kill her. Neko pulled a smoke bomb out of her pouch and dropped it causing smoke to hide her. There was a flash red and the smoke slowly disappeared to reveal a smiling Neko. Neko eyed Gaara then turned back to Lee.

"Hey, you sure Lee didn't steal your eyebrows?" She asked before jumping to dodge the sand. Gaara growled. "Why do you wear a giant peanut on your back?" She asked dodging the other attack. "Are you always this grumpy?"

"What's she doing? She's just making him more mad." Sasuke asked. Sakura watched curiously then she remembered what Neko said earlier.

"I think she's doing it on purpose to stall for time like she did with the sound ninja earlier." Sakura claimed. "You guys weren't awake when it happened though but Neko ran around acting all happy and asking stupid questions-"

"THESE QUESTIONS AREN'T STUPID. THEY ARE LOGICAL QUESTIONS BASED ON THE OBSERVATIONS I HAVE MADE!" Neko shouted over hearing Sakura.

"Whatever, anyways she asked them random questions and began to stall for time. She told me she was concentrating her chakra. After she was done concentrating she did this Jutsu and it was really cool. Her senses were enhanced and she changed a little in looks." Sakura explained. The team watched Neko dodge Gaara's sand as they took this information in. Naruto looked up and gasped.

"S-Sakura, Sasuke. Look." He said pointing toward the ceiling.

"What now Naruto…" Sakura trailed off. Her and Sasuke stared at the sight in shock. There was another Neko standing on the ceiling with her arms crossed observing her clone and Gaara.

"I got it!" Her clone exclaimed. "I made up a nickname for you! Panda-chan the wannabe panda!" Everyone sweat dropped and the real Neko held a tiny smile on her face.

" _He uses his sand for attacking so if I can get past the sand...I would need water to do that_."

" **Wait kit. There's a presence. One that I** ' **ve been longing to see for ages**." Neko held back a groan.

" _Then what do I do?_ " Neko asked.

" **Use the transformation. I'll start gathering chakra. Concentrate chakra into your fingers and tap his forehead.** " Nikita instructed and Neko nodded, watching as her clone continued to be a distraction. Her clone slipped and sand grabbed the door of the clone and started crawling up her leg and around her waist.

"Sand coff-" The clone poofed away and Neko watched as Gaara looked around.

"Missed me." She claimed with a smile. "Now, get ready for awesomeness." She said before doing hand signs. "7 Stage Transformation: Stage One Unlock."

"That's the same thing I was telling you guys about." Sakura claimed. Everyone watched with interest as her features changed. The jumped off of the ceiling and landed in front of Gaara. She did a handsign and formed two shadow clones who each ran in opposite directions around Gaara, both jumping in to attack him at different times, but the attacks were stopped by the sand. Neko focused the chakra to her finger tips and got ready. Once she saw an opening she sprinted in the circle, beating the sand, and she put two fingers in Gaara's forehead. Everyone watched as everything suddenly froze. Gaara's sand fell to the ground. Neko and Gaara were both frozen. Neko was frozen with one foot in the air and her fingers touching Gaara's head. Gaara was frozen with one arm up and a shocked expression on his face.

"What the-" Naruto mumbled.

- **8888888888888888888888888888** -

A/N: **And that is it for this chapter guys! I'm super sorry that this was posted two days late, as it said in the beginning my internet was down therefore I couldn't do anything on my computer. I'm sorry if the fight scenes aren't that good, I'm not good with fighting scenes. Anyways, thanks for reading and see ya next time.**


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